Dusty Crum of Myakka City holds an 11-foot python captured during the 2013 state-sponsored python hunt. (Post photo/Greg Lovett)
They’re here to stay.
That’s one of the messages of a new documentary by filmmaker and former Miami Herald reporter Oscar Corral called Exotic Invaders: Pythons in the Everglades.
The film from Explica Media airs Wednesday night at 8 p.m. on PBS’s WPBT, Channel 2.
The station is included on most Palm Beach County cable systems.
Inspired by Florida’s 2013 python hunt, Corral spent more than a year tramping the levees and swamps of the southern Everglades following hunters in search of the giant, secretive snakes that have become the ‘Glades’ apex predators.
His conclusion? There is no practical solution to getting rid of them.
“Pythons are most likely going to alter the Everglades ecosystem forever,” he said.
Since 2013, scientists have been warning about the almost complete elimination of mammals in the southern Everglades due to the explosion in the python population. No one knows how many of these southeast Asian natives are roaming Southern Florida’s wilderness.
Ruben Ramirez of Miami, one of the state’s most successful python hunters, is featured in Exotic Invaders: Pythons in the Everglades. (Post photo/Greg Lovett)
Some estimates are as high as tens of thousands.
“It’s a disaster,” said Corral. “Our lesson is how to prevent a similar one with another invasive species.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission last week announced a new Python Challenge hunt scheduled for January 16 – February 14, in hopes of making a dent in the python population. This time, some public lands in Everglades National Park will be open to snake hunters, according to the FWC.
Jason Leon and friends captured the largest python in Florida history in southwest Miami Dade County in 2013. The 18-foot, 8-inch snake weighed nearly 130 pounds. (Photo/Jason Leon)
But the odds are in the snakes’ favor: In 2013, about 1,500 hunters descended on the Everglades for the hunt, capturing just 68 pythons.
Corral’s documentary will air on other public television stations beginning in November.
Related: Read The Palm Beach Post’s story of the 2013 Python Challenge.
