Do Burmese pythons have predators in Florida?
Yes they do. As hatchlings they are at the bottom of the food chain and they have a distinct disadvantage to our native snakes. The Burmese Python is a much slower moving snake than the majority of our native snakes and this makes them easy prey for birds, mammals (raccoons, opossums, wild hogs, bobcats, foxes etc.) reptiles (crocodiles, alligators, turtles and other snakes) and large fish. Insects such as fire ants also are a contributing factor to egg mortality. As they mature, they have fewer predators. With over 200 million years of evolution as the apex predator in fresh water, the crocodiles and alligators are at the top of the food chain in Florida. Much like other vertebrate animals, the mortality rate for hatchlings before reaching maturity is estimated by biologists to be 95-98%. – What is the ecological threat to Florida because of the established wild population of Burmese Pythons? At this point biologists simply dont know, but we do know they do not belong in the wild in S
