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SHREVEPORT TIMES (Louisiana) 30 October 07 Pythons, feral hogs could make quite a team (Jimmy Watson)
We read with interest a couple of recent stories, one local and one national, about invasive animals causing problems for the humanoids in their path.
An Associated Press story explained that the Everglades National Park in Florida is becoming infested with Burmese pythons, which can grow as large as 20 feet.
It seems that farmers working a 1,500-acre plot near Miami recently killed 51 of the reptiles after killing 44 in the same area last year.
"It just shows you the propensity for it," park biologist Skip Snow said in the wire story. "It's not just a few snakes —- it's thousands of snakes that occupy the Everglades habitats."
Native to the Far East, the story indicated that the pythons are often released into the wild by pet owners when the reptiles "get too big and scary."
With few natural enemies, the snakes dine on everything from rodents to birds to house pets. It didn't take long for the boy and girl snakes to find each other and begin reproducing unimpeded.
Locally, you may have noticed stories we've run about the problems that feral hogs are causing for farmers in both Louisiana and Texas. Just like the snakes, the hogs will dine on anything in their path and they tear up a lot of property along the way.
Hogs can be hunted year-round, but they haven't attracted a lot of attention from hunters, who prefer the more edible ducks and deer. Although some hunters say the pigs are tasty, their meat can be infected with worms or parasites. And, depending on what they've been eating, they can taste a little gamey.
It's not easy to trap hogs, as evidenced in the story on today's outdoor page, and it's very difficult to eradicate them. Biologists wanting to rid the Everglades of the pythons are having similar problems.
So, a solution might be getting the two groups together. I'm thinking a 200-pound hog would make a tasty meal for a 20-foot python. Conversely, a fat and juicy snake might be just what the hog nation ordered.
The obvious problem will be getting north Louisiana farmers to allow pythons on their property or convincing south Florida biologists that they could keep the feral hog population under control if they were allowed entry.
An argument could certainly be made that this solution could create the worst of both worlds. If instead of dining on each other, the hogs and the pythons decided to team together, they might just take over the world.
At least there wouldn't be any dead animals lying on our roadways for long.
Pythons, feral hogs could make quite a team

np