Record Python Removals in Everglades as Florida Expands Invasive Species Eradication Efforts

Florida's python hunters set a record by catching 1,022 Burmese pythons from May through July 2025. This is triple the amount from last year's catches during the same months. 

When Miami firm Inversa joined forces with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, python catches shot up. July 2025 saw 748 snakes caught — more than all of 2024's catches combined. 

Governor Ron DeSantis shared these facts on Oct. 21 at Hungryland Wildlife Management Area. "FWC's partnership with Inversa has supercharged the removal of invasive Burmese pythons from the Everglades," said DeSantis, according to the Florida Governor's Office. "The new program accomplished more removals in July 2025 alone than in the entire year before." 

The state allocated $2 million for snake hunting this year. By teaming up with private groups, FWC cut its work by 89%. 

Inversa's CEO, Aarav Chavda, announced breakthroughs in snake-catching tech. "Last week we had our first AI-enabled positive visual python detection from an aerial system, and yesterday we finalized our predictive behavioral AI model that will improve python capture by up to 50 times," said Chavda, according to TCPalm. 

These giant snakes can lay up to 100 eggs at once. With no natural predators in the swamps, they've crushed the numbers of local animals. 

This year's Python Challenge drew 934 folks from 30 states and Canada in July. They removed 294 snakes in just 10 days. 

DeSantis aims to get more funds from state lawmakers to continue the progress and protect the swamps from this invasive species.