MIAMI (MCT) — For the first time, scientists have put numbers to the toll Burmese pythons have had on native wildlife in the Everglades.
But one word can sum it up: carnage.
In the decade since the giant constrictors started showing up in significant numbers, mammals once among the most common in Everglades National Park have declined dramatically, according to a study published online Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
The study, based on night field surveys conducted over 10 years, found three animals had all but disappeared.
Opossum sightings fell 98.9 percent. Raccoons — once so abundant park managers warned visitors to safeguard food from roaming groups of the wily thieves — dropped 99.3 percent. Marsh rabbits, brown bunnies frequently seen foraging along roads in the pre-python past, didn’t appear at all. Observations of bobcats, foxes and deer all also fell precipitously.
“We started this study saying, man, it appears we’re not seeing many mammals,” said Michael Dorcas, a biology professor at Davidson College in North Carolina and the study’s lead author.
“When we actually did the calculations, we were astonished by the magnitude of the declines.”
The study suggests a near-collapse of mammal populations in the park and points to the python as prime suspect.
