Monsters of the Everglade - Storyworks

Nonfiction
As you
LT Cause/Effect
ILL
SSPK
read
this
story,
ask
yourself,
H
IG
OT
what caused the python
invasion of the Everglades?
What have been the effects
of this problem?
MONST
of the Eve
(Everglades) Ocean/Corbis; (bottom) Martin Harvey/NHPA; (top) Juan Castro/AFP
1
S T O R Y W O R K S
STERS
erglades
Deadly snakes are
taking over one of
America’s most prized
wilderness areas.
Is there anything we
can do to stop them?
O
By Lauren Tarshis
ne January morning in
2003, a group of families
was exploring Florida’s
Everglades National Park.
It is a unique and beautiful
wilderness, 2,500 square
miles of protected wetlands. The visitors
were admiring the wonders—rivers of golden
grass that stretch in all directions, the songs
of frogs and crickets chiming in the humid
air, the smell of orange blossoms from distant
orchards. The group had high hopes for the
day. Perhaps they’d see pink flamingos or
majestic blue herons. Maybe they’d catch a
glimpse of an endangered Florida panther.
N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R
2 0 1 0
2
Burmese pythons
can't eat every
animal in the
Everglades, as this
picture shows. A
snake split open
when it tried to eat
an alligator.
How long is a
Burmese python?
20 feet
3
S T O R Y W O R K S
(top) MichaelBArron/AFP;(inset) Bob DeGross/Everglades National Park; (LeBron James) Access/WireImage.com; (giraffe) Johan Swanepoel/istockphoto.com;
(Justin Bieber) Scott Weiner/Retna, Ltd/Corbis; (elephant) Wolfgang Amri/istockphoto.com; (German Shepherd) Eric Isselee/istockphoto.com
Burmese pythons can
As it turned out, the visitors
grow up to 25 feet (left).
were about to see something
more unusual—and horrifying—
than they could have imagined.
Not far from the park’s entrance, they
noticed a violent splashing in the water.
Taller than…
As they approached, they saw a massive
alligator wrestling with an enormous snake.
They would later learn that the snake was
a Burmese python, a species not naturally
found in the Everglades or anywhere in
North America. The alligator had its jaws
clamped around the snake. The snake was
wrapped around the alligator. The animals
LeBron
a
Justin
an
a German
struggled like two monsters in a horror film.
James
giraffe Bieber
elephant
Shepherd
Some of the visitors had video cameras.
Within days, the footage was broadcast on
TV and websites around the world.
worried that these enormous beasts could destroy
To most people, this match was little more
the fragile environment of the Everglades. The
than a thrilling and gruesome show. But to many
wrestling match helped capture the world’s
wildlife experts, it was a symbol of a problem—a
attention. But was it already too late?
big, slithery problem.
For years, some park officials in the
The Arrival
Everglades had been warning that Burmese
The first Burmese pythons arrived in the
pythons were living and breeding there. They
U.S. innocently enough: as pets. Americans
have always enjoyed keeping strange, beautiful,
and even dangerous creatures in their homes.
Today, 18 million Americans own pets that
are “exotic.” Want a white tiger? How about a
baboon? Or maybe you’re more interested in a
mamba—a snake whose bite can kill a grown
man in minutes. All of these animals are easily—
and legally—available for sale in the U.S.
Burmese pythons first appeared in pet stores
in the early 1990s and were immediately popular.
They were cheap—just $50 a snake. They are
not aggressive towards humans or venomous. As
babies, curled up into tiny coils, they look almost
cute. Almost.
But then these adorable hatchlings grow.
And grow. And grow and grow and grow. An
adult Burmese python can be three times as long
as LeBron James is tall. They have enormous
appetites for live animals. Not surprisingly, many
buyers of Burmese pythons soon regret their
purchase. And then what? Maybe your Uncle
Clive is happy to adopt the kitten you’re allergic
to. But a 20-foot snake that eats live bunnies?
Perhaps it’s not unexpected that many people set
their unwanted snakes loose in the wild.
In many areas of the U.S., an abandoned
snake would die of cold or starvation. But not
in Florida. The semitropical climate is ideal for
pythons. And nowhere in Florida is more perfect
for pythons than the Everglades.
Carried by Winds
The first of these snakes started showing up
in Everglades National Park in the mid-1990s.
Had just a few cast-off pets made their way into
this protected wilderness? Or had the snakes
reached the park in other ways? Nobody could
be sure. In a recent article from The New Yorker
magazine, author Burkhard Bilger takes us back
to 1992, when Hurricane Andrew slammed into
Florida. The storm was a whopper—Category 5,
the strongest. It killed 65 people and destroyed
thousands of homes and businesses. Among
the wrecked buildings were several exotic-pet
businesses. Their collections included hundreds of
baby Burmese pythons.
Most of those babies died in the storm. But
as Bilger suggests, some could have been carried
away by the winds, like reptilian Dorothys from
The Wizard of Oz. The winds were blowing west
that day. It was a straight shot to the Everglades.
Perhaps a few babies made it to the park?
At this point, it no longer matters how the
snakes got to the Everglades. The population
is out of control. By some estimates, there are
now 150,000 pythons in the park. Their exact
numbers are unknown. Their green-and-brown
markings blend uncannily well with most park
backgrounds. But there is no doubt that they
pose a grave threat to the fragile Everglades
ecosystem.
Photos courtesy of Deborah Dinger
Stuart: My Killer Pet
We've had our pet African Clawed Frog for
10 years. We don't pay much attention to him
anymore. Last year, my mom almost let him
loose so he could be free. But then we found out
that in the wild, Stuart's breed of frog is a crazed
killer. They eat baby frogs. In some areas, they've
wiped out other frog species. So we're keeping Stuart. We
hear he could live to be 30 years old. ­—Reese Butler, 13
 If you knew an animal would live 30 years, would
you still want it as a pet?
N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R
2 0 1 0
4
Burmese pythons are an
invasive species: a plant or
an animal that is brought
into a new environment and
causes damage to the species
already there. An estimated
The Nile monitor
lizard is a ferocious
4,300 invasive species live in
and aggressive giant
the United States, with more
lizard. Like Burmese
reported each year.
pythons, they were
In some cases, the
imported as pets
damage these species cause
and abandoned by
owners. Why do you
is devastating. Just ask bird
think people want
lovers in Hawaii. They’re
to keep dangerous
still suffering from a decision
animals as pets?
made in 1883. Sugarcane farmers in Hawaii
wanted to get rid of the rats that invaded their
has hired scientists to work full-time on tracking
fields. So they imported 73 Indian mongooses
snakes. Each month, they trap and kill dozens.
from Jamaica, hoping the weasel-like animals
They even have a python-tracking beagle,
would eat the rats. The plan failed. But the
Python Pete, which sniffs out pythons where
mongooses thrived. Their population grew
humans can’t find them. Soon, the National
and grew. Before long, they had devoured so
Park Service might permit hunters into the
many bird eggs, rodents, and reptiles that some
park’s protected wilderness. As one ranger put it,
species disappeared completely. The mongoose
“We are at war.”
infestation continues even today. On some
So far, the battle looks like that wrestling
Hawaiian islands, the air is eerily quiet—not a
match between the alligator and the Burmese
bird can be heard.
python. The struggle will go on for a long time.
This—and more—is what experts fear will
Right now, nobody can say who will win.
soon happen in the Everglades. Burmese pythons
breed quickly and easily. A female can lay as
WRITE TO WIN!
many as 100 eggs in one clutch, or nest. The
snakes are well-adapted to the different areas of
Write a speech for Earth Day explaining
the park, from the salty rivers to the freshwater
how invasive species can harm an
ponds to the thick forests. They will eat large
ecosystem. Use examples from the
quantities of almost anything—from reptiles and
article in your speech. Send it to “Earth
bird eggs to large mammals, like deer. As their
Day Contest” by May
numbers grow, pythons threaten many kinds of
15, 2015. Five winners
animals, including protected and endangered
will each receive a
species. And what eats the python? Rodents will
copy of Flush by
eat python eggs. But a full-grown python is a
Carl Hiaasen. Visit
king (or queen) of the Everglades.
storyworks.scholastic
So what can be done?
.com/Contests for
The python invasion of the Everglades is an
details on how to enter.
environmental crisis. The National Park Service
5
S T O R Y W O R K S
Chris Hondros/Newsmakers/Getty
“We Are at War”