Nealy 200 invasive Burmese pythons were removed from South Florida as part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's python challenge.
The 10-day competition featured 857 participants from 33 states and Canada. Seven hundred participants were Floridians. A total of 195 Burmese pythons were removed from the Everglades. The FWC said the grand prize winner, Ronald Kiger, removed a total of 20 pythons.
Kiger won a $10,000 prize for coming in first, removing 20 pythons. FWC split the remaining participants into "professional," "novice" and "military" categories, awarding $2,500 for most pythons removed and $1,000 for longest python removed.
Professional
Most pythons:
Donna Kalil: 19 pythons
Longest python:
Quentin Archie: 8 feet, 11 inches
Novice
Most pythons:
Thomas Hobbs: 16 pythons
Longest python:
Dennis Krum: 9 feet, 11 inches
Military
Most pythons:
Jeff Lince (Army): 5 pythons
Longest python:
Antonio Ramos (Army): 9 feet, 7 inches
The FWC says goal of the Florida Python Challenge is to "increase awareness about invasive species and the threats they pose to Florida’s ecology." Pythons are found primarily in the Everglades where they prey on birds, mammals and other reptiles, FWC says.
Since 2017, over 14,000 pythons have been removed by the FWC and South Florida Water Management District contractors.