Florida is one of the top tourist destinations in the United States of America. Famous for its many beaches, active nightlife, water and theme parks like the Disney Parks, and nature parks, the nation’s southernmost state has a lot to offer. One of Florida’s largest natural parks is Everglades National Park in the south of the state. At one point the Everglades covered 7,800 square miles of land. Today only 20% of the Everglades, 2,343 square miles, remain and is protected by the National Park. The Everglades is an ecosystem unlike any found anywhere else on Earth. However, not long ago a foreign predator was introduced to the Everglades that is wreaking havoc on the ecosystem, the Burmese python.

As one of the top 5 largest species of snakes, Burmese pythons reproduce and grow rapidly and can reach up to 23ft long weighing close to 200lbs. They are an apex predator that can patiently wait months between meals, but will gladly snatch up any small to medium size animal that comes within a few feet of its head. Naturally found in Southeast Asia, it is most likely that pet owners released them into the Everglades after realizing they couldn’t care for the massive snakes. The Everglades has proven to be a perfect home for the Burmese python as there are an estimated 300,000 of them roaming wild now. As their only threat in the wild are the largest of alligators, though they seem to coexist without issue, the pythons have become an invasive and destructive species that Florida is desperately trying to eradicate.

However, tracking and capturing Burmese pythons is extremely difficult as they have become perfectly adapted to hiding in the Everglades. Every year now the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Forest Service sponsors the Florida Python Challenge in which teams compete to hunt Burmese pythons. In 2013 Bill Booth, a former firefighter turned wildlife hunter, won second place in the competition, a few years later coming in at first place. “This is our Everglades, and there is only one Everglades,” Booth said. “And these pythons are coming through and just destroying the ecosystem down here.” Booth has become committed to helping solve the python problem in the Everglades, and not long ago he teamed up with VolAero Drones to show just how useful drones could be at tracking the elusive beasts.

In 2016 Charles Zwebner founded VolAero Drones in Miami, FL to provide clients, as explained on their website, “expertise in drone technology includes smart security, drone hardware, software, imaging, aviation, and communication systems.” With the help of one of the world’s top thermographers, Bart Bruni, VolAero and Booth headed out to the Everglades on the night of November 11, 2017, the ideal time for hunting the predators. A thermal camera attached to the drone quickly and easily spotted a massive Burmese python hiding in the grass. Booth was able to follow the drone directly to the spot of the snake and capture it, the entire mission only took moments to complete. Not only was the drone able to spot the massive python, but because of the thermal camera, Booth was able to recognize other creatures as well. “Python hunters finally have a tool to make hunting more efficient, bringing down the python numbers that are devastating Florida’s Everglades,” said Booth. “This drone and thermal technology is light-years ahead of shining a flashlight into the darkness and hoping for the best. The thermal imagery picked up not just the monster pythons, but also native snakes as small as 18 inches. This suggests that we’ll be able to spot and eliminate clusters of python hatchlings, which will help curb their reproductive cycle.”

VolAero Drones shared the data collected with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Everglades National Park, South Florida Water Management District to show them that these drones could truly be an effective tool in reclaiming the Everglades from Burmese pythons. In January of 2020, a Senate committee unanimously voted to pass a bill that would allow drones to be used to hunt Burmese Pythons in the Everglades. With the passing of this bill law enforcement and state agencies would be able to use drones to collect imagery data over private and public land, an action that was previously banned in Florida. This will hopefully go a long way in allowing agencies like
the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Forest Service to begin an aggressive attack on the invasive species in the Everglades. Another such species that has been causing problems is a type of fern that is choking out native vegetation. Using drones to locate the plants in the dense jungle like environment will be another goal for state run agencies.

There is no doubt that the Burmese python is a creature to be respected and admired, just within it’s proper habitat. As of March 23, 2012, it became illegal to import Burmese pythons along with several other snakes into the United States of America. Though they are fascinating creatures, if let loose they can quickly destroy natural habitats. Traditional methods of tracking them have been ineffective for a long time now allowing their numbers to grow dramatically. There is no way of knowing if and when Florida will be able to completely eradicate the Everglades of Burmese pythons, but now, with the help of professional drone services, they can get one step closer to that goal.

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