BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Big, invasive snakes are already a huge problem in South Florida where they’re preying on native wildlife.
Now, Florida Fish and Wildlife said there’s evidence that Burmese pythons have migrated as far north as Lake Okeechobee.
The illegal ownership and release of reptiles is also contributing to the problem.
Anacondas are native to South America, but two of them were captured in Brevard County in recent months.
Bill Motley wrangles one in his Melbourne neighborhood in February.
“I’d never seen any pictures of anything that looked like it did, just solid green,” Motley said.
Wildlife officials said it was about 8 feet, 8 inches long.
The snake was euthanized and turned over to state biologists, who determined it had recently eaten a feeder rat.
So investigators believe the snake was privately owned before it was released or escaped.
“Something you’re not expecting to see with kids and dogs, and this many people around,” said Motley.
Like another green anaconda found weeks earlier on the Brevard-Orange county line, it wasn’t microchipped for identification.
“The animals were not to sexual maturity, so we’re pretty confident that there’s no possibility that these animals reproduced,” said Chad Weber, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The agency can’t say how long the snakes were free.
A large Burmese python was living in the wild around Orlando for three years before it was captured
And while susceptibility to cold may limit habitat, wildlife officials don’t want to see any non-native reptiles establishing new breeding grounds like those in the Everglades.
They said that’s not out of the question in Central Florida.
“I can’t see owning an Anaconda and living in a residential area,” said wildlife trapper James Dean.
Dean removed a number of unwanted exotic animals from pet owners.
Allowing the escape or release of a conditional snake or lizard is a first-degree misdemeanor.
The reptiles can be surrendered to a licensed recipient at any time without penalty.
“We don’t need this in our environment that’s killing our native species,” said Dean.
Unwanted reptiles can also be surrendered at Exotic Pet Amnesty Day events.
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