Page 29 - King Coba
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The Problem with Pythons
One area where this has become a huge problem is in Florida, USA. These snakes are from southern and southeastern Asia. People either released their pet pythons or they escaped from buildings destroyed in tropical storms and hurricanes. This allowed the snakes to become an invasive species, meaning that they can grow and live in places they shouldn’t be. Burmese pythons have been in Florida since
the 1980s, but now tens of thousands of them are found in southern Florida and the Everglades National Park. Scientists discovered the python problem when
they found the populations of opossums,
bobcats, rabbits, and other small mammals were decreasing.
Snake vs. Alligator
Raccoons and rabbits aren’t the only animals in Florida that have to watch their backs. These snakes can eat so many different animals that they also chow down on birds, deer, and even alligators! Burmese pythons don’t have many predators, so they often face off against alligators for food and space.
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