I have been provided a video taken on Sunday, February 23, 2020, of area residents making a great attempt to remove an invasive red tail boa from the Deering Estate Preserve.
My first comment for those involved: "Great eyes!" You can see from the video just how effective this snake is at camouflage. They were really observant.
Video credit goes to Jeff Frette who both took the video (great work) as well as allowing me to share here on this blog. He advised that Rich McAlpin spotted the snake and called FWC. Jeff called someone who then called a professional snake catcher.
The snake catcher called turned out to be Kristian Hernandez who won the Python catching tournament. (See CBS4, January 26, 2020, Winners Of 2020 Python Bowl Showered In Prizes - hhttps://miami.cbslocal.com/2020/01/26/2020-python-bowl-winners/ )
Unfortunately for native wildlife, Kristian was 10 minutes too late. This was one lucky Red-Tailed Boa who got away to hunt native wildlife another day. May it not be so lucky next time. Eyes are out there, looking out for our native wildlife and engaged in the effort against invasive species.
MORE INFORMATION: I am posting a link to the official FWC Site relating to this invasive species. See: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - Red-tailed Boa
Red-Tailed Boas do represent a significant threat to natives as they feed on lizards, birds, and mammals both on the ground and in trees. Established populations could potentially impact local populations of some vertebrate species. Anyone seen a spotted skunk in the area lately?
This is my 32nd blog post relating to Invasive Species. For similar encounters, see the prior post of December 27, 2015, Send me your python experiences - I am looking to uncover the extent of the population - and REPORT any sightings.
Thank you to Jeff Frette and Rich McAlpin for stepping in, making the call, seeing this through and most of all, watching out for our local nature.
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