2016 Python Challenge

2016 Python Challenge
(CLICK the link above to view the official web page)
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission sent this bulletin at 12/02/2015 12:54 PM EST

2016 Python Challenge^TM.This coming year, with the help of our partners, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida are hosting the 2016 Python Challenge™. This month-long invasive species awareness campaign will again include a public competition to remove nonnative Burmese pythons from public lands in Florida. With expanded participating areas, the lands where participants can search for and remove pythons have more than doubled.

Are you up for the Challenge? Register for the Python Removal Competition and compete to see if you can harvest the longest or the most Burmese pythons and win grand prizes of $5,000 in the team category and $3,500 in the individual category.

We are providing frequent hands-on training for people who want to learn more about how
to capture pythons, both before and during the event. The 2016 Python Challenge™ will kick off at the Invasive Species Awareness Festival on Jan. 16, 2016 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. 

Details about trainings, competition rules and registration, prizes and events are posted at PythonChallenge.org.

Captured in Palmetto Bay, October 12, 2005

ONCE AGAIN: The bigger question is will Palmetto Bay be included in the hunt zone? 
Of course not, but we should talk about the fact that we have our shares of Python captures in Palmetto Bay.  A prior post from three years early, Dec 12, 2012), noting that two large pythons have been removed from Palmetto Bay in 2012.  CBS 4 reported on November 26, 2012, that a “very large” python who made its home on a Palmetto Bay lawn was removed by the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Unit near 180 Street and SW 77 avenue.  CLICK HERE to review the online story, Pesky Python Removed From Lawn Of Palmetto Bay Home.

Then there was the Christmas Day (2012) removal of a 13 foot Burmese python occurred from a Palmetto Bay pool.  Long time readers of South Dade Updates may recall the posting of the NBC6 report on 12/26/2012: (CLICK HERE) to view: NBC 6 reports: A 13-foot Burmese python was captured in the swimming pool of a Palmetto Bay home.  The Miami Herald reported that this snake was located and captured at a Palmetto Bay home located off 97th Avenue and SW 183 Street on Christmas Day (the link to the Miami Herald story has expired).  

Another famous capture was on October 12, 2005, by one of Palmetto Bay's original policing unit officers, Ofc Randy DiStefano, joined the capture of a non-native python.  This capture is took place on the grounds of the current Palmetto Bay Village Hall.   

Will more snakes be identified and captured at this Palmetto Bay village hall location?  Who is going to step up and participate in the Python Challenge, 2016?

I have set a new goal – Certified Python Hunter. Let’s join in the Hunt! Palmetto Bay has recently offered up fertile ground for such a hunt.

Looking to add to your participation in public competitions? Looking to add to your Miami Herald tropic hunt resume? The Miami Herald just reported on a new contest, one we can all jump in on, reporting on Thursday, December 06, 2012, that Florida wildlife managers on Monday announced a new approach: a snake-hunting contest offering cash prizes.

The Python Challenge, scheduled to begin next month, will pay $1,500 for the largest number of snakes and $1,000 for the longest one in two categories. One would include 70 or so licensed python hunters and the other would be open to anyone willing to pay a $25 registration fee, take a half-hour online identification course and — it probably goes without saying — sign a liability waiver. 

See the online story, Miami Herald, South Florida contest: Bag some pythons,win some cash, by Curtis Morgan, for more details, or go to pythonchallenge.org. 

Just a few weeks’ notice.  I don’t have much time to prepare.  I am going to take the online course, just for giggles, but I may not stop there.  I am looking into how I can become a “certified python hunter.”  Can you imagine how that will make your letterhead or business card jump?! It will be just like Wile E. Coyote, Supergenius. I like the way it rolls out. Wile E. Coyote, Supergenius. 

The bigger question is will Palmetto Bay be included in the hunt zone?  Two large pythons have been removed from Palmetto Bay in the last 12 months.  CBS 4 reported on November 26, 2012, that a “very large” python who made its home on a Palmetto Bay lawn was removed by the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Unit near 180 Street and SW 77 avenue.  CLICK HERE to review the online story, Pesky Python Removed From Lawn Of Palmetto Bay Home. 

It is just coming up on a year ago when the Christmas Day (2012) removal of a 13 foot Burmese python occurred from a Palmetto Bay pool.  Long time readers of South Dade Updates may recall the posting of the NBC6 report on 12/26/2012: (CLICKHERE) to view: NBC 6 reports: A 13-foot Burmese python was captured in the swimming pool of a Palmetto Bay home.  The Miami Herald reported that this snake was located and captured at a Palmetto Bay home located off 97th Avenue and SW 183 Street on Christmas Day (the link to the Miami Herald story has expired). 

Another famous capture was on October 12, 2005, by one of Palmetto Bay's original policing unit officers, Ofc Randy DiStefano, joined the capture of a non-native python.  This capture is took place on the grounds of the current Palmetto Bay Village Hall. 

Will more snakes be identified and captured at this Palmetto Bay village hall location?  Who is going to step up and participate in the Python Challenge, 2013?

One of my favorite photos. Palmetto Bay's finest capturing a non-native snake in 2005.

The capture of the 13 foot python in Palmetto Bay on Christmas Day provides me with the opportunity to share one of my favorite photos taken during my two terms as founding mayor. This photo was taken on October 12, 2005, and shows one of Palmetto Bay's original policing unit officers and high school friend, Ofc Randy DiStefano, participating in the capture of a non-native snake.  I believe this snake was captured on Franjo road in the parking lot of a former grocery store, where Palmetto Bay's village hall building now stands.  If I'm correct, this is not too far from where the 13-foot Burmese python was captured on Christmas day.  Are the snakes both part of an existing feral colony of snakes in the area or both recently escaped pets?  Regardless, both are examples of the extent of the problem.

Officer Distefano passed away on December 5th, 2007, after battling cancer.  Officer Randy DiStefano was also a Palmetto Bay resident with his wife, Rose.  He will always be remembered as a friend as well as an original member of the Palmetto Bay Policing Unit and as Palmetto Bay's first motorcycle patrolman within the Palmetto Bay policing unit. We miss you Randy!