Scientists Finally Found What's Killing Pythons in the Everglades — And It Shouldn't Be Possible

Scientific concepts, discoveries, and nature phenomena

1) What kills invasive Burmese pythons in the Everglades (emerging consensus)

Evidence suggests native Everglades wildlife is increasingly preying on invasive Burmese pythons at multiple life stages:

• Python eggs (nest predation)
• Hatchlings/young (predation and carcass evidence)
• Juveniles (documented predation pathways)
• Adults (rare but documented encounters with apex predators)

2) Origin, establishment, and ecological impact of Burmese pythons

• Burmese pythons (non-native) were introduced to South Florida primarily via the exotic pet trade.
• Hurricane Andrew (1992) is believed to have accelerated escape/release and breeding into the wild.

Population growth and ecosystem effects:

• Python expansion across >1,000 square miles.
• Rapid decline in mammal survey sightings reported in a 2012 study:
  • Raccoons: >99% decline
  • Opossums: ~similar magnitude decline
  • Bobcats: ~88% decline
  • Marsh rabbits / foxes: removed from surveys

3) Historical “rule” about lack of python predators (and why it seemed true)

For ~two decades, the prevailing view was:

• No native predator could reliably kill adult Burmese pythons, with the American alligator considered the most plausible exception.

Documented predator-prey interactions show mixed outcomes:

• Alligator vs. python encounters include cases where either species wins.
• Example (2015): a reported 13-ft python attempted to swallow a 6-ft alligator; both died due to rupture.

4) Radio-tracking reveals unexpected predators during python “top-of-web” searches

Researchers used a “scout snake program”:

• Capture pythons (often males)
• Implant radio transmitters surgically
• Release and track movement during breeding to locate females and nests

Key observation:

• A tracked python transmitter was recovered inside a native cottonmouth (water moccasin), showing a native snake eating a python.

5) Novel discovery: bobcats preying on python eggs (first documented in Florida)

Using motion-triggered cameras on python nests (Big Cypress National Preserve, USGS):

• A bobcat was documented consuming, trampling, and caching python eggs, returning multiple times.
• When the female python returned, the bobcat defended its actions, striking at the much larger snake.

Supporting evidence:

• Prior carcass/claw-mark and wound scratch records linked bobcats to python killings (including earlier records of bobcat-killed pythons).

Ecological alignment:

• Bobcat populations had crashed in python country by ~90%, matching declines seen in other mammal species—suggesting bobcats are now “relearning” python predation.

6) Novel discovery: vultures preying on python eggs (first bird record in Florida)

In May 2023 (Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area, Broward County):

• Researchers found vulture predation on a python nest:
  • At least 4 vultures observed tearing into eggs
  • At least 17 eggs punctured
  • Some eggs removed as shells

Likely species (not confirmed):

• Probably black vultures and/or turkey vultures (not conclusively named because birds left before ID).

Publication context:

• The report was mentioned as February 2026 in the journal Reptiles and Amphibians.

Implication:

• Birds can locate hidden nests via smell/olfaction and aerial detection behavior.

7) “Fight back” at multiple stages, but rates remain unknown

The video emphasizes that these findings are often opportunistic detections:

• Cottonmouth predation was detected because the python had a transmitter.
• Vulture egg predation was detected because the mother/nest was tagged or found.

Researchers note they cannot yet estimate:

• how common these events are across the whole Everglades
• survival rates of eggs/hatchlings/juveniles/adults

8) Parasite spillover: an additional ecological complication

• Burmese pythons carried a parasite described as an oriental/tongue worm (lung parasite).
• The parasite reportedly spilled over into Florida native snakes.
• It has been linked to the death of an endangered eastern indigo snake, which is also documented eating python hatchlings—connecting predation and disease risk.

9) Evaluation of whether the fight back is sufficient (three interpretations)

The narrative frames competing explanations:

• Hopeful: Everglades natives are gradually incorporating pythons into the food web, potentially reducing invasion over time.
• Cautious/pessimistic: predation events mostly target eggs/young, while adult females remain broadly productive.
• Arithmetic/cold-blooded: python reproduction (potentially 50–100 eggs/female/year) may outpace predation and human removal efforts.

10) Human removal efforts and continued spread

Python removal approaches:

• Annual contests and organized hunting
• >17,000 pythons removed since 2000 (as stated)
• Conservancy of Southwest Florida removed >20 tons since 2013

Despite removal, the population is described as still enormous and spreading, with limited ability to measure true impact.

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Methodologies / study approaches mentioned

• Scout snake program (radio telemetry)

  • Capture pythons (often males)
  • Surgically implant radio transmitters
  • Track signals to find females and nests

• Camera trapping

  • Deploy motion-triggered cameras at or near nests
  • Monitor nesting events when the mother is away

• Carcass/x-ray confirmation

  • Use X-ray (Zoo Miami Animal Hospital) to confirm what was inside preyed-on animals
  • Dissect/open specimens to identify prey remains

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Researchers / sources featured (as named in the subtitles)

• Frank Mazati (University of Florida)
• Andrea Curillo (USGS scientist; led camera-trap python nest work)
• Melissa Miller (University of Florida; led/behind the vulture study)
• Ian Bartochek (biologist overseeing Conservancy of Southwest Florida python program)
• Ron McIll (Zoo Miami communications director; confirmed transmitter/prey details)
• University of Florida
• USGS (United States Geological Survey)
• Conservancy of Southwest Florida
• Zoo Miami
• Journal “Reptiles and Amphibians”