Burmese python: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:32, 25 January 2024

Revision as of 12:32, 20 March 2024

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A genetic study in 2017 revealed that the python population is composed of hybrids between the Burmese python and Indian python.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hunter|first1=M.E. |last2=Johnson|first2=N.A. |last3=Smith |first3=B.J. |last4=Davis|first4=M.C. |last5=Butterfield|first5=John S.S. |last6=Snow|first6=R.W. |last7=Hart|first7=K.M. |date=2017 |title=Cytonuclear discordance in the Florida Everglades invasive Burmese python (''Python bivittatus'') population reveals possible hybridization with the Indian python (''P. molurus'') |journal=Ecology and Evolution |volume=8 |issue=17 |pages=9034–9047 |doi=10.1002/ece3.4423 |pmid=30271564 |pmc=6157680}}</ref>

By 2007, the Burmese python was found in northern Florida and in the coastal areas of the [[Florida Panhandle]]. The importation of Burmese pythons was banned in the United States in January 2012 by the [[U.S. Department of the Interior]].<ref name="U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2012">{{cite press release |title=Salazar Announces Ban on Importation and Interstate Transportation of Four Giant Snakes that Threaten Everglades |url=https://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Announces-Ban-on-Importation-and-Interstate-Transportation-of-Four-Giant-Snakes-that-Threaten-Everglades |website=doi.gov |access-date=April 26, 2022 |date=January 17, 2012}}</ref> A 2012 report stated, "in areas where the snakes are well established, foxes, and rabbits have disappeared. Sightings of [[raccoon]]s are down by 99.3%, [[opossum]]s by 98.9%, and [[white-tailed deer]] by 94.1%."<ref name="Adams">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/pythons-are-squeezing-the-life-out-of-the-everglades-scientists-warn-6297653.html |___location=London |work=The Independent |author=Adams, G. |date=2012 |title=Pythons are squeezing the life out of the Everglades, scientists warn}}</ref> Road surveys between 2003 and 2011 indicated an 87.3% decrease in bobcat populations, and in some areas rabbits have not been detected at all.<ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Dorcas ME, Willson JD, Reed RN, Snow RW, Rochford MR, Miller MA, Meshaka WE, Andreadis PT, Mazzotti FJ, Romagosa CM, Hart KM |date=2012 |title=Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=109 |issue=7|pages=2418–2422 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1115226109 |pmc=3289325 |pmid=22308381 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2012PNAS..109.2418D }}</ref> Experimental efforts to reintroduce rabbit populations to areas where rabbits have been completely eliminated have mostly failed "due to high (77% of mortalities) rates of predation by pythons."<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Willson J |date=2017|title=Indirect effects of invasive Burmese pythons on ecosystems in southern Florida |journal=Journal of Applied Ecology|volume=54|issue=4|pages=1251–1258 |doi=10.1111/1365-2664.12844|doi-access=free|bibcode=2017JApEc..54.1251W }}</ref> Bird and [[coyote]] populations may be threatened, as well as the already-rare [[Florida panther]].<ref name="Adams" /> In addition to this correlational relationship, the pythons have also been experimentally shown to decrease marsh rabbit populations, further suggesting they are responsible for many of the recorded mammal declines. They may also outcompete native predators for food.<ref name=":13">{{cite journal |vauthors=McCleery RA, Sovie A, Reed RN, Cunningham MW, Hunter ME, Hart KM |title=Marsh rabbit mortalities tie pythons to the precipitous decline of mammals in the Everglades |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume=282 |issue=1805 |page=20150120 |date=2015 |pmid=25788598 |pmc=4389622 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2015.0120}}</ref>

For example, Burmese pythons also compete with the native [[American alligator]], and numerous instances of alligators and pythons attacking—and in some cases, preying on—each other have been reported and recorded.

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A study from 2017 introduced a new method for identifying the presence of Burmese pythons in southern Florida; this method involves the screening of mosquito blood. Since the introduction of the Burmese python in Florida, mosquito communities use the pythons as hosts even though they are recently introduced.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Reeves LE, Krysko KL, Avery ML, Gillett-Kaufman JL, Kawahara AY, Connelly CR, Kaufman PE |title=Interactions between the invasive Burmese python, ''Python bivittatus'' Kuhl, and the local mosquito community in Florida, USA |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=e0190633 |date=2018-01-17 |pmid=29342169 |pmc=5771569 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0190633 |bibcode=2018PLoSO..1390633R |veditors=Paul R |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Invasive Burmese pythons also face certain physiological changes. Unlike their native South Asian counterparts who spend long periods fasting due to seasonal variation in prey availability, pythons in Florida feed year-round due to the constant availability of food. They are also vulnerable to cold stress, with winter freezes resulting in mortality rates of up to 90%. Genomic data suggests natural selection on these populations favors increased thermal tolerance as a result of these high-mortality freezes.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Card DC, Perry BW, Adams RH, Schield DR, Young AS, Andrew AL, Jezkova T, Pasquesi GI, Hales NR, Walsh MR, Rochford MR, Mazzotti FJ, Hart KM, Hunter ME, Castoe TA |display-authors=6 |title=Novel ecological and climatic conditions drive rapid adaptation in invasive Florida Burmese pythons |journal=Molecular Ecology |volume=27 |issue=23 |pages=4744–4757 |date=2018 |pmid=30269397 |doi=10.1111/mec.14885 |doi-access=|bibcode=2018MolEc..27.4744C }}</ref>

They have carried ''Raillietiella orientalis'' (a [[pentastome]] parasitic disease) with them from Southeast Asia. Other reptiles in Florida have become infested, and the parasite appears to have become endemic.<ref name="Waymer-2019" />

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Although the species has a reputation for docility, they are very powerful animals – capable of inflicting severe bites and even killing by constriction.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Python Kills Careless Student Zookeeper in Caracas|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2622427/Python-kills-careless-student-zookeeper-in-Caracas.html|date=2008-08-26|work=The Telegraph|agency=AP|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2622427/Python-kills-careless-student-zookeeper-in-Caracas.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2019-02-18|___location=London|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors=Chiszar D, Smith HM, Petkus A, Doughery J |date=1993|title=A Fatal Attack on a Teenage Boy by a Captive Burmese Python (''Python molurus bivittatus'') in Colorado|journal=The Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society|publisher=Chicago Herpetological Society|volume=28|issue=#12|page=261 |url=http://www.chicagoherp.org/bulletin/28(12).pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218202006/http://chicagoherp.org/bulletin/28(12).pdf |archive-date=2019-02-18|issn=0009-3564}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.anapsid.org/coloburm.html |title=The Keeping of Large Pythons: Realities and Responsibilities|vauthors=Kaplan M|date=1994 |website=www.anapsid.org|series=Herp Care Collection|access-date=2019-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/python-caused-death-in-ontario-home-in-1992-case-1.1328205 |title=Python Caused Death in Ontario Home in 1992 Case|date=2013-04-13|work=CBC News|access-date=2019-02-17|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Commission|agency=Canadian Press|department=Toronto News|___location=Toronto|issn=0708-9392}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/python-linked-deaths-raise-questions-over-exotic-animal-laws-1.1349119|title=Python-linked Deaths Raise Questions over Exotic Animal Laws|vauthors=Davison J|date=2013-08-07|work=CBC News|access-date=2019-02-17 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |department=News|___location=Toronto|issn=0708-9392}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/748680/pages/nevilles-p1-normal.gif |title=Dr. D. H. Evans, Coroner of Ontario, "Inquest into the Death of Mark Nevilles: Verdict of Coroner's Jury" (Brampton, Ontario: June 1992)|website=documentcloud.org|access-date=8 April 2019}}</ref> They also consume large amounts of food, and due to their size, require large, often custom-built, secure enclosures. As a result, some are released into the wild, and become invasive species that devastate the environment. For this reason, some jurisdictions (including Florida, due to the python invasion in the Everglades<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Burrage G |title=New law makes Burmese python illegal in Florida |url=http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/state/new-law-makes-burmese-python-illegal-in-florida |date=30 June 2010 |website=Abcactionnews.com |access-date=9 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501023817/http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/state/new-law-makes-burmese-python-illegal-in-florida |archive-date=2013-05-01}}</ref>) have placed restrictions on the keeping of Burmese pythons as pets. Violators could be imprisoned for more than seven years or fined $500,000 if convicted.

Burmese pythons are opportunistic feeders;<ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Orzechowski SC, Romagosa CM, Frederick PC |date=2019-07-01|title=Invasive Burmese pythons (''Python bivittatus'') are novel nest predators in wading bird colonies of the Florida Everglades|journal=Biological Invasions|volume=21|issue=7|pages=2333–2344|doi=10.1007/s10530-019-01979-x|s2cid=102350541|doi-access=free|bibcode=2019BiInv..21.2333O }}</ref> they eat almost any time food is offered, and often act hungry even when they have recently eaten. As a result, they are often overfed, causing [[obesity]]-related problems to be common in captive Burmese pythons.

Like the much smaller [[ball python]], Burmese pythons are known to be easygoing or timid creatures, which means that if cared for properly, they can easily adjust to living near humans.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gbif.org/species/144100053|title=''Python bivittatus'' (Kuhl, 1820)|website=www.gbif.org |access-date=8 April 2019|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022073544/https://www.gbif.org/species/144100053}}</ref>