Python contest is on in the Everglades as 800 arrive ready to hunt (Video)

More than 700 people turned out for the first-ever Florida Python Challenge to help rid the Everglades of the Burmese Python. The snake, an invasive non-native species, is decimating wildlife like rabbits and deer.

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The Everglades' big python contest began Saturday and kick started with a bang as 800 people arrived armed and ready from 30 states. With only a few tips from Jeff Fobb of the Metro-Dade Fire Rescue venom response team on how to handle a Burmese Python, these brave souls set off to rid the everglades of an overpopulation of the deadly python.

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You may not find the idea of wrestling, stabbing or shooting a python recreational, but for these 800 applicants, this is the "time of their lives". For many it was just another “adventure” in the woods. For most of us it most likely would seem more like visiting a “haunted-house” in the deep woods.

Somebody's got to do it though, right? Maybe you wish you had signed up. Well, better luck next time. Everyone will be watching to see who wins the top prize of $1,500 for bagging the most pythons, and the one who captures the longest one will go home with $1,000 in his/her pocket. Not a bad reward for risking life and limb, or is it?

Too big to handle?
Too big to handle?
Photo credit: 
Photo by Joe Raedle-.Getty Images

At the end of the day for most it is the “thrill of the hunt”. “But finding the snakes can be a tough task. The brown-spotted serpents, which can grow to more than 17 feet in the wild in Florida, blend easily into the brush.”said the Los Angeles Times.

“'It's advantage snake,' mechanical engineer Dan Keenan told the Associated Press on Saturday.”(LAT)

Whoever wins, a big congratulations will be in order, and a few prayers for their safety in the meantime couldn't hurt. For those still cringing, it's OK to breathe now.

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, General Recreation Examiner

Atlanta Page lives her life with the fun of recreation always on her mind. Whether indoors or outside, she has spent the last 25 years finding creative ways to have fun. Join her as she gives you ideas and tips for keeping the fun in your life.

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