The Burmese python has become the defining ecological problem of the Florida Everglades, a giant constrictor from Southeast Asia that has established a self-sustaining wild population across the southern tip of the state.

Burmese pythons are recognizable by more than their size. Hunters should be on the lookout for a telltale, arrow-shaped marking on the snake’s head, along with giraffe-like spots across its body and dark spots around its eyes. During the summer months, they’re most likely to be found sunning on levee banks or near trees.

NAPLES, Fla. — One of the most respected nonprofit environmental groups in Florida is celebrating a record-setting python hunting season. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida says it bagged more than four tons of invasive Burmese pythons during the ...

"It's impossible to overstate how cryptic they are."

Burmese pythons are scarcely recorded in Lee County, but experts say the data is a faulty reflection of the invasive species' actual population.

Last year, Taylor Stanberry caught 60 Burmese pythons with her bare hands—a state record. But this self-taught hunter says she doesn't enjoy killing the snakes, she just knows it's a necessity. Taylor Stanberry was the first woman to win Florida's annual ...