Trust no one. Male pythons are wearing wires that are wireless
If you are a female python on a dating app, be constantly on guard. I once read the Hawaiian royal women tried to become as large as possible so their subjects could see them from afar. Don’t know if that’s true (pretty sure it was reported in James Michener’s book Hawaii.)
But I just read that when male pythons are thinking about settling down, they search for the biggest female in their territory.
Scientists, who respect nobody’s personal space, installed wireless tracking devices in the thirsty males and then followed them, looking for girls. (If you are intimidated by scientists, just think of them as wing-men for pythons.)
Specifically in the watery reaches of the Everglades in Florida, scientists stalked male pythons who were stalking females. As sometimes happens, even in bars, they found one. She was 18 feet long and weighed 215 lbs. She was smuggling 122 python eggs in her belly.
Obviously, reducing the intrusive snakes 122 at a time instead of individually is more effective. We can discuss ethics some other time.
Besides, the native original wildlife was being rapidly decimated. Raccoons, opossums, rabbits, were disappearing at alarming speed, some species were reduced by 87 %. Bobcats by 37%.
Enter the indigo snake, which weighs an average of 10 pounds. It clearly can’t kill an adult python, but it really likes python eggs and little baby pythons.
“Nobody trained them. Nobody paid them.”
The balance of native creatures vs intrusive pythons began to even out.
Sometimes the best thing Science can do is watch how Nature handles it.
But I just read that when male pythons are thinking about settling down, they search for the biggest female in their territory.
Scientists, who respect nobody’s personal space, installed wireless tracking devices in the thirsty males and then followed them, looking for girls. (If you are intimidated by scientists, just think of them as wing-men for pythons.)
Specifically in the watery reaches of the Everglades in Florida, scientists stalked male pythons who were stalking females. As sometimes happens, even in bars, they found one. She was 18 feet long and weighed 215 lbs. She was smuggling 122 python eggs in her belly.
Obviously, reducing the intrusive snakes 122 at a time instead of individually is more effective. We can discuss ethics some other time.
Besides, the native original wildlife was being rapidly decimated. Raccoons, opossums, rabbits, were disappearing at alarming speed, some species were reduced by 87 %. Bobcats by 37%.
Enter the indigo snake, which weighs an average of 10 pounds. It clearly can’t kill an adult python, but it really likes python eggs and little baby pythons.
“Nobody trained them. Nobody paid them.”
The balance of native creatures vs intrusive pythons began to even out.
Sometimes the best thing Science can do is watch how Nature handles it.
