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4d ago

Florida Python Challenge Begins With $25,000 in Prizes

Organizers say cash awards plus mandatory training will increase removals to help protect Everglades wildlife.

Wildlife officials demonstrate how to wrangle a Burmese python during a recent media day in the Everglades.
Credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
$10,000 goes to the winner of the Burmese python challenge.

Overview

  • The 10-day Florida Python Challenge began at 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 10 and runs through 5 p.m. July 19 with $25,000 in total prizes and a $10,000 Ultimate Grand Prize for the most pythons removed.
  • Participants must register, pay a nonrefundable $25 fee, complete required online training and pass a quiz before competing, and the rules ban firearms, dogs, drones, traps, bait, explosives and motorized tools.
  • Captured pythons must be humanely euthanized under FWC protocols, chilled or frozen and turned in at check stations within 24 hours to qualify as entries.
  • State agencies report more than 27,000 pythons removed in Florida since 2000 and a record 294 taken during the 2025 challenge, but conservationists estimate the wild population could range from roughly 100,000 to several hundred thousand, and federal researchers say counts are hard to confirm.
  • The contest covers eight official sites including Everglades National Park, complements year‑round removal on 32 commission-managed properties and ties into the state's 2021 plan and the Exotic Pet Amnesty Program to reduce future introductions.