'Super snake' fears on the rise in Florida

5 African rock pythons, which in their homeland are known to eat goats, are seen during a 3-day search in Miami-Dade County. Officials worry that the rock python could breed with the Burmese python.

By Andy Reid
LA Times
January 14, 2010

Reporting from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Fears of a new "super snake" emerging in the Everglades grew this week during a hunt to track South Florida's invasive python population.

A three-day, state-coordinated hunt that started Tuesday had, by Wednesday, turned up at least five African rock pythons -- including a 14-foot-long female -- in a targeted area in Miami-Dade County.

Those findings add to concerns that the rock python is a new breeding population in the Everglades and not just the result of a few overgrown pets released into the wild, according to the South Florida Water Management District.

In addition, state environmental officials worry that the rock python could breed with the Burmese python, which already has an established foothold in the Everglades. That could lead to a new "super snake," said George Horne, the water district's deputy executive director.

(More here.)