Critical Minute - The Life and Times of the Florida Python

It’s the best and worst of times for the Everglades Python. According to the Florida Fish and Wil...  More »

It’s the best and worst of times for the Everglades Python. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, tens of thousands of pythons are destroying the native ecosystem. To combat this invasive species, the commission sponsored the Python Challenge, which offered cash prizes: $1,000 for the longest Burmese python and $1,500 for the most pythons captured and killed. During the month long challenge – more than a thousand participants combed the Everglades with their weapons of choice, sometimes crawling through the perilous swamp at hopes of killing a python. There’s no better spokeswoman to these actions than Susan Orleans, who published an article that brought the majesty of Florida’s natural beauty and its inhabitants to the national spotlight. In the movie, Adaptation, Chris Cooper won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in his portrayal of the toothless, orchid hunter named John Laroche. The story, originally published in the New Yorker, was later adapted into a novel, The Orchid Thief. Laroche’s story now has national recognition after millions upon millions of views, both on video and in print. Columnists and novelists Tim Dorsey, Dave Barry and Carl Hiaasen have also earned national fame from weaving Florida’s natural beauty with the oddities found in the local inhabitants and foreign transplants, bringing issues such as urban sprawl, politics, and environmental disasters to national news outlets. Word has now spread that the python challenge was no more than a publicity stunt after the results of the monthlong challenge were released: nearly 1,600 contestants captured just 68 Burmese pythons — the longest one 14 feet. John Laroche also later went on to say his escapades were merely a publicity stunt to gain awareness of a gap in legislation. It appears that he and the Wildlife Commission only wanted protect the best interests of Florida. Tell us what you think about deploying contents, or sensational stories to gain National interest on our Facebook page. Susan Orleans once wrote, “Sometimes I think I've figured out some order in the universe, but then I find myself in Florida”.  « Less