Scientists brace for snake invasion
cmorgan@herald.com
The giant snakes suddenly seem hungry, gulping a gator, a turkey and poor Frances the cat. As the body count creeps up, so does python paranoia.
Such uneasiness may not be totally irrational.
Back home in Burma and Thailand, pythons live comfortably amid civilization, slithering in sewers and crushing rodents and other prey. Left unchecked, warns Kenneth Krysko, a herpetologist with the Florida Museum of Natural History, there is little to stop them from cruising canals to crisscross South Florida.
''Certainly, they can now get into anywhere people live,'' Krysko said. ``What will happen then, we don't know for sure. We do know they can eat people's pets. So, kids, get out of the water.''
For now, the notion of snakes as long as SUVs invading the suburbs remains an uncertain fear. But in the Everglades, Burmese pythons have boomed so fast that scientists say it's time to change the focus from studying to killing.
Full story:
No comments:
Post a Comment