According to the FWC, the 2026 Florida Python Challenge included 907 participants from 30 different states, Canada and Vietnam. The hundreds of hunters managed to capture and huma

Annual 10-day competition drew more than 900 participants from across the U.S. and abroad.

More than 900 contestants vying for the $10,000 grand prize scoured South Florida for 10 days during the 2026 Florida Python Challenge.

By exploiting the snakes' mating behavior, a team in southwest Florida removed a record 8,080 pounds of invasive pythons in just six months. The effort points to a simple but effective idea: use the snakes' instincts against them to stop the next generation before the population grows further.

Burmese pythons are recognizable by more than their size. Hunters should be on the lookout for a telltale, arrow-shaped marking on the snake’s head, along with giraffe-like spots across its body and dark spots around its eyes. During the summer months, they’re most likely to be found sunning on levee banks or near trees.

Burmese pythons in Florida are devouring animals as small as rabbits and as big as deer and alligators. How they do it is fascinating and unsettling.