by Playfuls Staff |
14th October 2006
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it has too much on its plate to tackle the growing number of Burmese pythons in South [more] Florida any time soon.
The South Florida Water Management District asked the federal agency in June to declare the snakes "injurious," banning them from interstate shipment and from being imported to the country. In September, Assistant Director Mamie Parker responded that the python would have to wait in line, the Palm Beach Post reported Saturday.
A spokesman told the paper the service has one full-time employee studying 30 species being considered for bans.
Burmese pythons, which can grow to be well over 20 feet long, have become established in the Everglades. The snakes are believed to be pets released by their owners when they became too big to handle.
The pythons are possibly the only species aside from humans that can take on alligators. In one recent incident, a dead python was found with a dead alligator in its stomach.
© 2006 UPI
