What was supposed to be a routine python-tracking mission turned into a whodunnit deep in the Florida Everglades, about 15 miles from Naples.
Conservancy of Southwest Florida biologists were searching for Loki, a 13-foot, 52-pound male Burmese python in their "scout snake" tracking program. More than 40 snakes are employed in the project, where they are equipped with transmitters in order to lead scientists to burrows filled with dozens of invasive eggs. Instead, they found the snake dead — his head and neck gnawed off, his body half-buried.
“Very quickly we figured out he’s dead, and it turned into a bit of a crime scene to some degree — CSI crime scene, wildlife,” said Ian Bartoszek, a wildlife biologist at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
The scene offered few clues — no tracks, no clear predator in sight. However, biologists say the way Loki’s body was buried, a behavior called “caching,” pointed to something unusual.
“There’s only two things that will do that, to my knowledge — a bobcat and a panther,” said Bartoszek.
Trail cameras were set up in the area, with assistance from the United States Fish & Wildlife Service. The next day, the video showed a much smaller bobcat returning to the site.
“A 25-pound cat killed and cached a 52-pound python? That’s a win for the home team. We all tend to like animals that punch above their weight class. Here was a native animal pushing back against an invasive apex predator," said Bartoszek.
Pythons are considered top, apex predators in the Everglades. They routinely consume native species like bobcats, deer, and even alligators. This year alone, Conservancy of Southwest Florida biologists have removed around 130 invasive pythons through the program.
“During the breeding season, it turns into a bit of a special forces unit. We’re going where these snakes are taking us, and it’s very much not on roads and levees," said Bartoszek.
Researchers at the University of Florida have identified more than 85 species of wildlife inside Burmese pythons. This time, it’s what the python didn’t eat that’s turning heads.
“The Everglades is fighting back. That gives me hope," said Bartoczek.
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