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Posted: 2019-04-08 02:30:42

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FWC officials said that using radio transmitters was part of a larger, collaborative effort to eradicate the non-native species from South Florida.

"The team not only removes the invasive snakes, but collects data for research, develop new removal tools and learn how the pythons are using the Preserve," officials wrote in a statement on the Big Cypress National Preserve Facebook page, announcing the catch.

Florida has used other methods to manage the python population, including encouraging the humane killing of pythons on private property and at 22 wildlife management areas, including Big Cypress. The state has also sponsored removal programs with prize incentives, such as the Python Pickup Program and regular public hunts.

The state also encourages the public to share the locations of python sightings to help better track the snakes' whereabouts.

The Burmese python is native to Asia and came to inhabit the swampy lands of South Florida after people released pet pythons into the wild. Burmese pythons were first spotted in the Everglades in the 1980s, and the population grew following Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

The storm, a category 5, made landfall south of Miami and brought great destruction across South Florida, demolishing buildings that included several exotic-wildlife facilities, CBS News reported.

Since then, the python has disrupted the natural ecosystem of predator and prey in the Everglades, competing with native wildlife for food and contributing to the decline in several mammal species.

A 2012 study showed that, since 1997, population growth for raccoons in the Everglades had dropped by 99.3 per cent, opossums 98.9 per cent and bobcats 87.5 per cent.

"Marsh rabbits, cottontail rabbits, and foxes effectively disappeared," the US Geological Survey said.

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