New data shows size of a python’s home range in Everglades

EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, Fla. (AP) – New research is revealing how far invasive Burmese pythons are slithering through the Everglades.

The U.S. Geological Survey published Tuesday the results of a 14-year study tracking 19 pythons through Everglades National Park. The snakes were outfitted with transmitters. The data showed that a python’s home range covers an area roughly 8.5 square miles.

The study also showed that pythons mostly stuck to watery sloughs and coastal habitats in the park, though their ranges frequently overlapped in tree islands throughout the vast wetlands.

Pythons are native to Southeast Asia. Tens of thousands may be living in Florida’s Everglades, where scientists say they are eating their way through native mammal populations. They pose little threat to humans, who haven’t found a reliable way to control the snake’s population.