Photo: AFP
The big hunt is on!
Florida's 2021 Python Challenge gets underway in the Everglades Friday, and runs through July 18.
Trapper Mike Kimmel with Martin County Trapping & Wildlife Rescue won last year's ten-day competition.
"I was happy, win or lose, with the effort that I gave and I was lucky enough to win it."
The grand prize winner in 2020 caught the most snakes, at eight.
Whoever wins it this years gets $10,000. There are other cash prizes for things like longest python and heaviest python caught.
The Challenge is an effort by the state to minimize the invasive Burmese python's impact on the "River of Grass."
Kimmel says he keeps the efforts up year round to help Florida's ecosystem. Florida Fish and Wildlife officials say adult females lay as many as 100 eggs per year.
They concede that we're not going to rid the Everglades of the snakes, so this event is aimed at minimizing their impact.
Registration remains open for the entire ten day run.
Click Here to check out Kimmel's hunts, including a number of large Burmese pythons in the Everglades.