Burmese Pythons Pose Little Risk to Everglades National Park Visitors

Stories of enormous Burmese pythons being found in the Florida Everglades are commonplace, and the invasive snakes are a threat to the balance of the ecosystem there, but the US Geological Survey said Friday that the pythons pose little risk to people in the Everglades National Park.

Writing in the Wildlife Society Bulletin, USGS researchers report on 10 years worth of python reports, finding only five incidents with humans and the large snakes. All five of those instances in the national park happened to biologists who were conducting research in the flooded wetlands, the USFWS said. The study, however, did not count instances where people were were trying to capture or kill the pythons; only unprovoked attacks were considered.

The unprovoked python attacks were likely feeding attempts.

"The strikes did not appear to be defensive, but were more likely were associated with aborted feeding behavior," said lead study author Bob Reed, a USGS wildlife biologist and herpetologist "Pythons usually direct defensive strikes at the front of a person, not from the side or rear, as all of these strikes were. Additionally, Burmese pythons rely on being secretive and evading detection as their primary means of avoiding interactions with people, and typically don't strike until provoked."

None of biologists involved in the attacks reported seeing the pythons prior to being attacked, which corroborates the likelihood that the attacks were a result of a feeding attempt rather than a defensive strike.

Two of the five attacks resulted in minor injuries to the biologists, but constriction was not involved in any of the episodes, the study found.

More than 1 million people visit the Everglades National Park every year, and they often pass along trails where where Burmese pythons have been spotted or captured.

"Our guidance to visitors with respect to Burmese pythons is the same as for our native wildlife -- please maintain a safe distance and don't harass the wildlife," said Everglades National Park park superintended Dan Kimball. "With respect to controlling Burmese pythons, we are working diligently with our state, federal, tribal, and local partners to manage this invasive species and educate the public on the importance of not letting invasive species loose in the wild."

Burmese pythons can grow in excess of 18 feet in length and weight more than 150 pounds. The largest of Burmese pythons are capable of ingesting large prey such as deer or alligators.

The human-risk assessment concluded that while chances of a Burmese python attacking a human are low, it is not non-existent.

According to the USGS: "Available evidence from captive snakes suggests that even those strikes that result from cases of mistaken identity or defensive behavior may still result in constriction, which can prove fatal to people when a large python or a small human is involved."