Florida Python Challenge – Burmese Python. Photo: Vince Adam/Shutterstock.com The winner of this year’s Florida Python Challenge is officially announced. Ronald Kiger won the $10,000 grand prize. During the 10-day hunt, which was intended to raise awareness of the damage that Burmese pythons cause to the ecology, Kiger removed 20 pythons from the Florida Everglades.
Manatees — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Image by: Lukasz Machowczyk Manatee deaths in Florida were at an all-time high three years ago. Their babies are also dying now. As of August 23, about 130 manatee calves had been discovered deceased in Florida this year. That is higher than any previous full year in state records going
Burmese Python. Photo: Vince Adam/Shutterstock.com On Thursday, the Florida Python Challenge 2024 officially opened for registration. From August 9–18, the yearly competition helps eradicate non-native, invasive Burmese pythons from seven lands controlled by the Commission in South Florida. It is available to both experts and beginners. $10,000 will be awarded to the most pythons removed.
Perdido Key, Florida Gulf Coast — Courtesy: Shutterstock — George Dodd III The Gulf Coast is many things to many people, from manatees and leisurely swimming in iridescent waters to visiting state parks and museums. Amazing fishing, golfing, and dining can be found along the Gulf Coast, which stretches from western Florida to the border
Manatees — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Image by: Lukasz Machowczyk Manatees in Florida were driven from warm springs to power plants by pollution. Their new built homes are disappearing as the state moves toward renewable energy. On the Gulf Coast of the state, close to Apollo Beach, the huge, gray, barnacled Florida manatees idly float close
Python on trail – Courtesy: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 500 pounds of snakes were discovered by a team of trackers in a swamp in South Florida last month, according to the Miami Herald. A 7-foot-wide mound containing 11 pythons was found by officials on public land near Naples on February 21, according to
DeSantis Deploys U.S. Coast Guard – Patrol Boat in Water – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Douglas Litchfield As gang violence has increased unrest in the Caribbean country, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared on Wednesday that he is deploying more than 250 additional troops, police, aircraft, and boats to “protect” the state against vessels transporting
Sperm whale in water – Courtesy: Animalgraphy Update: Sperm whale has died. Off the Florida shore of Venice Beach, authorities made an effort to assist a 50-foot beached whale on Sunday. By Sunday night, officials had revised their estimates of the whale’s length and weight, which had been 50 feet long and 50,000–70,000 pounds. The
Woman releasing balloons – Photo: Song_about_summer/Shutterstock.com Florida may soon impose fines for willfully launching a balloon into the sky if the state is successful in tightening its regulations around littering. It’s a component of a larger initiative that includes legislation in at least eight other states to safeguard wildlife, birds, dolphins, and turtles from ingesting
Endangered Species Act – Florida Panther – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by jo Crebbin A federal court ruling on Thursday found that federal agencies violated the law when they permitted Florida’s right-wing government to take over wetlands permitting under former Republican President Donald Trump. This will restore “essential guardrails provided by the Endangered Species Act,”