Amidst a lot of fanfare, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission held a little photo op out on the edge of the Everglades last month and announced "a special hunting season targeting Burmese pythons on state lands in South Florida March 8 through April 17."The story took up some space in newspapers and filled about 2 and a half minutes on evening news shows.
But most experts like Frank J. Mazzotti, an associate professor of wildlife ecology and conservation at the University of Florida, believe that, "eradication of Burmese pythons is no longer an achievable goal."
Mazzotti thinks population control of the invasive reptiles is a more realistic solution.
NYTimes.com has posted a debate between Mazzotti and two other reptile experts on "what should be done to control the pythons’ spread."
And there are a quite a few well-informed reader comments as well.
And a reminder that next Sunday, Animal Planet will air a documentary on Florida's python problem titled "Killer Aliens."
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