Wildlife refuge in Florida sets traps for invasive pythons

A federal wildlife refuge in Florida is setting traps for pythons to protect against the voracious invasive snake.

Burmese pythons have infested Everglades National Park. In a Palm Beach Post report, officials said no pythons have been spotted farther north in the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. But the refuge’s managers aren’t taking any chances.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist Rebekah Gibble said the refuge is “working feverishly to develop other methods of control” to prevent pythons from moving in.

Five-foot-long (1.5-meter-long) traps patented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture are being placed at the refuge’s southern perimeter. Employees bait and check the traps daily, while trail cameras monitor wildlife movement and interest.

Gibble says refuge managers hope the traps will be “a way for cost-effective python control.”