Contractors with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Thomas Aycock, left, and Tom Rahill, founder of the Swamp Apes, a veterans therapy nonprofit, show off an invasive Burmese python caught earlier, as they wait for sunset to hunt pythons, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in the Florida Everglades. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Carl Jackson caught a nearly 17-ft long Burmese python weighing over 200lbs as part of an effort to rid Florida of the invasive snake.

Are Florida's invasive Burmese pythons are more active in warmer months? Signs show signs of cold tolerance, potentially spreading north.

KEY LARGO — Biologists A.J. Sanjar and Michael Cove part a curtain of vegetation and stride into the shadows of a dense forest in Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge to check on a line of possum traps.

A python hunter earned multiple cash bonuses in March for capturing the most and longest snakes. The South Florida Water Management District's program pays contractors to remove invasive Burmese pythons. Hunters can earn hourly wages, per-python payments ...