Burmese python mothers can generate heat while guarding their eggs; scientists documented the behaviour in a wild Florida nest

Burmese python mothers can generate heat while guarding their eggs; scientists documented the behaviour in a wild Florida nest

A Burmese python guarding a clutch of eggs may appear to be doing little more than lying tightly coiled around them. In fact, the female can play an active role in controlling the temperature inside the nest. When conditions become too cool, muscles along her body begin contracting rapidly, producing heat that raises her own … Read more

Florida’s python team followed 40 tagged male snakes and ended the season with 177 Burmese pythons removed and more than 4,100 eggs taken from the ecosystem

Florida’s python team followed 40 tagged male snakes and ended the season with 177 Burmese pythons removed and more than 4,100 eggs taken from the ecosystem

A season of tracking Burmese pythons across the difficult terrain of southwest Florida ended with 177 snakes removed and more than 4,100 eggs taken out of the ecosystem. The work, carried out by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida and its python action team, covered about 200 square miles of Collier County between November 2025 and … Read more

In the 1980s, Burmese pythons invaded Florida’s Everglades, and decades later raccoons fell 99.3%, opossums 98.9% and bobcats 87.5%

In the 1980s, Burmese pythons invaded Florida’s Everglades, and decades later raccoons fell 99.3%, opossums 98.9% and bobcats 87.5%

For years, the Everglades was known for its tangled wetlands, alligators and an abundance of smaller mammals moving through the vegetation. Then an animal from south-east Asia began spreading through the marshes. Burmese pythons, most likely introduced through the pet trade, have established a breeding population in southern Florida and now occupy large parts of … Read more