BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – South Florida is preparing to host Super Bowl LIV in just a few weeks.
But Friday night, the Python Bowl was getting underway in the Everglades.
The Python Bowl officially kicked off Friday with hunters searching for the invasive species.
They have just about a week and a half to find as many as they can.
The Burmese python has become a well-known menace for South Florida.
They can grow to be absolutely massive and they’re wreaking havoc on the Everglades.
“They can actually eat one of the most endangered species on the planet, even a Florida panther, a bear, and destroy our natural food chain, and without a natural food chain you cannot have a healthy environment,” Ronald “Alligator Ron” Bergeron said.
But now, the huge, slithering reptiles are the ones that are being hunted.
On Friday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and South Florida Water Management District kicked off the 2020 Python Bowl, a competition encouraging pro and amateur snake hunters to track down and capture Burmese pythons invading the Everglades.
“This is an environmental hunt to save the natural food chain and the beautiful Everglades,” Bergeron said.
After the 10-day hunt, those who catch the most or the biggest pythons will be rewarded with everything from cash to ATVs.
The checkpoints closed at 5 p.m. Friday.