Beneath the vast, tangled canopy of the Florida Everglades, a battle is raging—a battle fought not just by scientists and wildlife officials, but by everyday people, thrill-seekers, and even tourists from across the continent. The enemy? The Burmese python, an invasive species that has transformed one of America's most iconic wild places into ground zero for an ecological crisis.
In July 2025, the annual Florida Python Challenge returned, drawing nearly 1,000 participants from the United States and Canada to South Florida’s swamps. Their mission was as daunting as it was urgent: remove as many of the giant snakes as possible from the Everglades, a region now synonymous with the python invasion. By the end of the 10-day contest, a record 294 Burmese pythons had been captured and removed, a feat hailed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) as a major victory. "The 2025 Florida Python Challenge can go in the books as a success thanks to the hard work of staff," FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto declared in a statement, according to FOX 35 Orlando. "The record number of invasive pythons removed from the Everglades during this year’s competition is a big win for native wildlife."
The grand prize and $10,000 went to Taylor Stanberry of Naples, Florida, who single-handedly extracted 60 pythons from the dense, mosquito-ridden wetlands. The longest snake caught during the event measured 15 feet, 11 inches—impressive, but still shy of the 19-foot record set in 2023. This year’s haul is just the latest chapter in Florida’s ongoing struggle. Since 2017, more than 1,400 pythons have been removed during these organized challenges, while contracted hunters have extracted over 16,000 of the invasive reptiles, according to the FWC.
But the contest is just one front in a much larger war. The Burmese python, originally imported through the exotic pet trade in the 1990s, has flourished in the Everglades. A 2013 estimate pegged the population at anywhere from 30,000 to 150,000. Now, some officials warn the number could be as high as 500,000. The snakes are apex predators, devouring everything from rabbits and raccoons to full-grown deer. "We find deer hooves in the stomachs of almost every python we catch that are over 16 feet," python hunter Amy Siewe told the Daily Mail. "They are eating full-grown deer. It's horrific."
Siewe is at the heart of a new phenomenon: python hunting as eco-tourism. Once a luxury real estate broker, she traded her high heels for swamp boots and now leads guided hunts deep into the Everglades. Her tours, which cost $1,800 for up to four people and $300 for each additional person per night, offer both adrenaline and a sense of purpose. "This guided hunt is both a thrill and a mission," Siewe explained. "It's amazing to catch a python, but it's even more powerful knowing you're saving native animals."
On the night the Daily Mail joined her, Siewe stalked a 16-foot python—just three feet shy of the world record—and marked her 700th capture. Her largest snake to date? A 17-foot, 3-inch, 110-pound behemoth. "There have been 17-footers that take four people to get," she recounted. "I caught mine by myself... she was 110 pounds. I am very proud of that."
Tourists like Jim Gillenwater from Indiana have joined Siewe on these nocturnal expeditions, braving the Everglades’ bugs and humidity for a taste of the action. "You gotta put in the work and be able to deal with the variables to get the best trophy," Gillenwater said, reflecting on his experience. "It was everything I ever dreamed of. It was one of the hardest things I've ever hunted because they're so elusive. I cannot remember more fun than I've had in the last two days just showing photos of the snake I caught."
Siewe’s work is more than just adventure. She’s a former member of the state’s Python Elimination Program, which pays licensed hunters to remove pythons, and now collaborates with researchers to study the snakes’ behavior. Her clients, she says, are drawn not only by the thrill but by the chance to help Florida’s ecological future. "It's not the python's fault they're here," Siewe acknowledged. "They're just being pythons. But they have to go. Our mammals are disappearing at an alarming rate." She added, "It takes a python three years to get to be 10 feet, and it takes 200 animals to get it there. Every single python we take out of the Everglades is saving hundreds of lives."
The impact of the python invasion is undeniable. According to the FWC and researchers cited by the Daily Mail, native species such as raccoons, opossums, bobcats, and even deer have seen dramatic declines. Previous studies have documented sharp drops in these animals’ populations, with some areas reporting almost no sightings of once-common mammals. The ecological balance of the Everglades—a UNESCO World Heritage Site spanning 1.5 million acres—has been upended.
Faced with this crisis, scientists are getting creative. In July 2025, researchers from the University of Florida released an army of remote-controlled robotic bunnies, each equipped with motors, scent attractants, and heaters to mimic real prey. The goal? To monitor python movements and patterns, alerting officials so that hunters can be dispatched to remove the snakes. It’s just one of many experimental tactics aimed at gaining the upper hand in a fight that sometimes feels unwinnable.
Pedro Ramos, superintendent of Everglades National Park, underscored the importance of citizen involvement. "The record number of pythons removed highlights the importance of citizen engagement as we tackle one of the toughest conservation challenges of our time," Ramos said. "By collaborating closely with our partners at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the South Florida Water Management District, we are making meaningful progress toward preserving the Everglades and its diverse wildlife for generations to come."
Still, the scale of the problem is daunting. As Siewe put it, "We might just be prolonging the extinction of our native animals, but if we can do that long enough for scientists to develop better solutions, then it's absolutely worth it." The FWC encourages the public to report sightings of invasive reptiles via hotline or online, in hopes that every sighting and every removed python will tip the scales, however slightly, back toward balance.
For now, the fight continues—one snake, one hunt, and one determined Floridian at a time.