PRESS & JOURNAL (Aberdeen, UK) 06 June 07 Researcher Starts Snake Hunt (Alison Middleton)
A major python hunt is under way in Florida after a Scottish university researcher literally stumbled upon a ferocious 8ft snake.
Joanne Potts, of St Andrews University, discovered the python while tracking endangered woodrats in Key Largo.
The snake was only found because it was transmitting a signal from the woodrat it had eaten.
By consuming one of the area's most protected species, the python's discovery has prompted a major hunt to find more of the snakes, and governmental discussions on how to keep others at bay.
Ms Potts, a PhD student at the university's Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling (Creem), found the snake in the woods of Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park last month. It is thought to be the first Burmese python seen in Key Largo, although they are found in the Everglades and often end as roadkill on mainland Florida.
Despite claims it could have been an escaped pet, Ms Potts believes the python was wild and posed a serious threat to endangered species.
"The python was very aggressive, behaviour not observed in captive reared individuals as they are familiar with being handled by humans. It was also in very good condition and was well fed on wild animals, again not usually seen in captive reared individuals, because they typically don't know how to hunt and often die shortly after being released into the wild.
"They are extremely good swimmers so may simply have made the journey from the mainland." She added: "Northern Key Largo is home to numerous endemic and critically endangered species, including the Key Largo woodrat and Key Largo cotton mouse.
Both rodents could easily become extinct if the python has an established population there."
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