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Burmese pythons in Florida are spreading beyond the Everglades, according to ABC News.
Wildlife officials say a separate population has taken hold in western Charlotte County, creating new potential risks for ecological damage and the local communities connected to those ecosystems.
What's happening?
Part of western Charlotte County, on Florida's Gulf Coast north of Naples and Fort Myers, is now recognized as established territory for Burmese pythons, ABC News reported. The snakes are widely seen as one of the most destructive invasive predators in the United States.
That makes the Charlotte County group a significant expansion beyond the species' previously determined core range in South Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Everglades National Park was the main hub for the species in Florida for a long time, but its range has expanded across a broader stretch of South Florida in recent years.
Beginning in 2020, state officials started seeing a rise in python reports from Charlotte County, especially in Rotonda West and nearby areas, as ABC News reported.
FWC officials say the pattern does not suggest the snakes arrived through natural migration. Instead, they believe the animals were likely being kept in captivity before escaping or being released.
Ian Bartoszek, a wildlife biologist and science coordinator at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples, told ABC News that this expansion looks like it happened because of humans introducing them to these ecosystems.
Why does it matter?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has estimated that about 180,000 Burmese pythons entered the country from 1975 to 2018, according to ABC News. Those actions helped create the conditions for today's problem.
Wildlife officials are worried about Burmese pythons because of their status as apex predators. They eat birds, raccoons, bobcats, and even alligators. And if people don't manage ecosystems properly, damage can occur.
Wetlands and nearby habitats depend on established wildlife systems to keep ecological relationships functioning. A single introduced species can drive those populations down sharply.
Healthy ecosystems also support biodiversity, tourism, recreation, and resilience for nearby communities. When wildlife disappears, the environmental and economic consequences can ripple outward.
What's being done?
The FWC said the agency and its partners are continuing python monitoring and survey work in Charlotte and Lee counties.
Research cited by officials suggests survey teams may spot only 1% to 3% of the pythons in an area. In Everglades National Park, the detection rate works out to roughly one python spotted for every eight hours spent searching, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
But even a small number of sightings can signal a much larger hidden population.
While there's no undoing this situation, it's important to never release exotic pets into the wild. And if you see a Burmese python, report your sighting to wildlife officials.
Preventing new introductions remains one of the few ways communities can keep the problem from spreading faster than scientists can respond.
"This is a pattern we have not yet found a way to stop or reverse at the scales needed to address the problem," Robert McCleery, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Florida, told ABC News.
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