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Pythons are devastating native wildlife in one of America's most ecologically diverse areas. Armed groups are combing the Everglades in a bit to kill off an invasive species with a voracious appetite. Thomas Rahill is a telecoms engineer by day. But in his olive fatigues and wide-brimmed hat he looks more like a rebel army commander. His mission? To defend the American wilderness from a deadly reptilian invader: The Burmese python. "When you come across a big python, I don't care where you are, it is a very dangerous animal, you have to know what you are doing," he says. Rahill is founder of the Swamp Apes, a team made up of mainly ex-military people, hired to tackle a problem that's devastating wildlife in the Florida Everglades. He roams this dramatic landscape throughout the day in his dirt-splattered old Chevy, using a roof-mounted spotlight to pick out the sinister form of a giant snake, slithering past or hanging from a tree. "Pythoning is nothing like you'd expect it to be, yet it is everything you'd hope for," Rahill says enthusiastically. Biodiversity under threat The word Everglade means "river of grass," and the Everglades are, in fact, one giant, very slow-moving river. It once covered the whole of South Florida but human development has reduced the Everglades by half. It is still one of most biodiverse areas of the United States. But much of the wildlife here is now under threat from pythons thought to have escaped from the pet trade. Their numbers exploded in the late 1990s. With an ideal subtropical climate and plenty to eat, the Burmese python thrives in the Everglades. A single female can lay up to 100 eggs. Rahill and other dedicated hunters scour the Everglades in the daytime and by night, hoping to catch sight of a giant python Mammals like raccoons and marsh rabbits, as well as birds are all on the python's menu. A 16-foot (4.8-meter) Burmese python in the Everglades was even found with an adult deer in its belly this past fall. And as populations of these smaller mammals dwindle, the effects can be felt up the food chain, as native predators like panthers and alligators lose their primary food sources. "The biodiversity starts to plummet," says Christopher Smith, a veterinarian at the Welleby Veterinary Hospital in Sunrise, Florida. "How do those ripple effects start to go outwards? I don't even know if we have a grasp of that yet." Smith says little is known about the lives of Burmese pythons in the Everglades. He and his colleague Andrea Zimandy are Swamp Apes board members, and are helping state agencies study the pythons' behavior and understand their movements. But there's agreement that desperate measures are needed to keep their numbers down. Desperate measures Python hunts are taking place throughout the year in parts of Everglades National Park, sponsored by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. And now the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) has licensed a select group of 25 hunters, including Rahill, to participate in a pilot python-hunting program this year. Every python over four feet in length has a bounty of $50 (44.50 euros) on its head, with an extra $25 for every additional foot. A 20-foot giant would bag its killer $450. The water district program is also paying each hunter the state's minimum wage of $8.10 an hour. The reptiles cannot be captured and removed from the Everglades alive without proper permits, which are difficult to obtain. Those participating in the pilot project must kill the snakes using firearms or decapitation. Pithing - or a blow to the head with a blunt instrument - is also a permitted method of dispatching the animals. In fact, this is the method the Swamp Apes favor. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is particularly concerned about decapitation, a method the organization has urged state agencies to outlaw. A humane solution? "We believe very strongly that if the snakes must be removed, it must be done humanely," says Lori Kettler, Deputy General Counsel for PETA. "Reptiles have a very slow metabolism. So a snake that is decapitated continues to experience pain up to an hour after decapitation." Grabbing the powerful constrictor from the back of the head is the best way to restrain it, says veterinarian Andrea Zimandy Still, Smith and Zimandy train Swamp Apes so they can, the pair say, restrain and kill the massive constrictors humanely. "You generally want to control the most powerful part of the animal, which, in their case, is their mouth," veterinarian Zimandy says. "So if you are able to grab behind their skull and restrain that way, then you are better able to control their bodies." So far this season, hunters have bagged just over 100 Burmese pythons - a drop in the ocean, considering the population is estimated at up to 100,000. But it's an enthusiastic start, and so far, the best defense the Everglades has against the killer snakes. A farmer who vanished from his family farm was discovered, swallowed whole, inside the giant snake. The incident was highly unusual as pythons rarely attack humans. Residents experienced a slithery surprise when two pythons were discovered in the northern German town of Reinfeld. Authorities have yet to find the owner of the fugitive reptiles.
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Priča dana Poslije posla - u lov na pitone Ponekad prirodu treba zaštititi od nje same. Pitoni u nacionalnom parku Everglades na Floridi primjerice uništavaju ostale životinjske vrste koje u njemu žive. Thomas Rahill za kruh zarađuje kao inženjer telekomunikacija. Ali u svojoj maslinasto zelenoj radnoj uniformi i sa šeširom širokog oboda više izgleda kao zapovjednik neke gerilske skupine. A njegova misija glasi: obraniti američku divljinu od ubojitih reptila, točnije od burmanskog pitona. "Kad se susretnete s velikim pitonom, morate znate što radite", kaže. Rahill je osnivač trupe Swamp Apes, 25-članog tima sastavljenog uglavnom od bivših vojnika, angažiranog za rješavanje problema uništavanja života u nacionalnom parku Everglades (Florida). On krstari ovim močvarnim krajem noću u svom blatnjavaom starom Chevroletu, koristeći reflektor na krovu kako bi otkrio zlokobnu siluetu ogromne zmije koja visi sa stabla ili se obavija oko njega. Lovci na burmanskog pitona "Lov na pitone nije ono što biste očekivali, ali je sve čemu biste se mogli nadati", kaže Rahill pun entuzijazma. Ugrožena raznolikost vrsta Pleme indijanaca Seminola je Everglades zvalo Pa-hay-okee ("travnate vode") jer je najveći dio ovog područja vodom natopljen močvarni šaš, odnosno jedna velika rijeka koja se polako miče. Nekada je prekrivala područje čitavog juga Floride, ali je ljudski razvoj smanjio površinu Evergladesa na polovicu prvobitne. Još uvijek je riječ o jednom od područja s najvećom bioraznolikošću u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama. Ali bogatstvo životinjskih vrsta je sada ugroženo zbog proždrljivosti pitona koji se raširio na ovom području. Broj pitona u nacionalnom parku na Floridi je eksplodirao u kasnim 90-im godinama prošlog stoljeća. Zahvaljujući idealnoj suptropskoj klimi i obilju hrane, burmanski piton se nezaustavljivo širi. Ženka može snijeti do 100 jaja. Na jelovniku pitona su sisavci poput rakuna i močvarnih zečeva. U jednom gotovo pet metara dugom primjerku ove zmije je prošle jeseni pronađen i odrasli jelen. Kako se smanjuje populacija sitnijih sisavaca, dolazi do poremećaja u hranidbenom lancu tako da domorodački predatori poput pantera i krokodila više nemaju dovoljno hrane. "Bioraznolikost počinje opadati", kaže Christopher Smith, veterinar iz Veterinarske klinike Welleby iz Sunrisea na Floridi: "Mislim da ne možemo ni naslutiti koje sve posljedice to može imati." Smith kaže da se o životu burmanskog pitona u Evergladesu malo zna. On i njegova kolegica Andrea Zimandy su članovi upravnog odbora udruge Swamp Apes i pomažu državnim vlastima u istraživanju ponašanja i navika pitona. Ali postoji i sloga oko toga da bez drastičnih mjera njihov broj neće moći biti držan pod kontrolom. Thomas Rahill Drastične mjere Pitoni se love u određenim dijelovima Evergladesa tijekom cijele godine. Lov financira Komisija za ribe i divljinu Floride. Ove godine je pokrenut pilot-projekt sa skupinom od 25 lovaca među kojima je i Thomas Rahill. Za svakoga pitona dužeg od jednog metra i 20 centimetara je raspisana novčana nagrada od 50 dolara plus 25 dolara za svakih daljnjih 30 centimetara. Piton od šest metara bi tako njegovom ubojici donio zaradu od 450 dolara. Lokalne vlasti koje financiraju ovaj projekt plaćaju lovcima i minimalnu satnicu od 8,10 dolara. Pitoni ne mogu biti ulovljeni i prebačeni na neko drugo mjesto bez posebnih dozvola, a njih je teško dobiti. Lovci koji sudjeluju o ovom projektu pak moraju za likvidaciju zmija koristiti vatreno oružje ili im odsjeći glavu. Članovi udruge za zaštitu živpotinja Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) posebno se bune zbog odsijecanja glave zmijama. "Humanije" rješenje? "Mi smatramo da ako ove zmije već moraju biti uklonjene, to mora biti učinjeno humanije", kaže Lori Kettler iz upravnog odbora PETA-e. "Reptili imaju vrlo spori metabolizam, tako da zmije i nakon što im je odsječena glava nastavljaju i do sat vremena kasnije osjećati bol." Ugrožena je raznolikost vrsta, svjesni su i veterinari Christopher Smith i Andrea Zimandy No problem je, objašnjava veterinarka Rimandy, to što lovac na pitone u pravilu mora pokušati prvo neutralizirati najmoćniji dio ove zmije, a to su usta. U ovoj sezoni lovci su uspjeli ubiti negdje oko 100 pitona - što je tek kap u oceanu s obzirom na populaciju od 100.000 koja živi u nacionalnom parku Everglades. Ali entuzijazam nije nestao, a do sada nema ni bolje alternative za obranu od ove ubojite zmije. Preporuka uredništva Čuvari biljaka sa sjevernog pola Ratovi, prirodne ili nuklearne katastrofe - sve to može biti uzrokom uništenja i nestanka sjemena industrijskih biljaka. Zato se ono čuva u arktičkom ledu. Zoološki vrtovi - očuvanje životinjskih vrsta ili okrutnost? Svaki dan izumire preko stotine životinjskih vrsta. Čovjek uništava njihova staništa ili lovi do posljednjeg primjerka. Mogu li zoološki vrtovi pomoći u očuvanju životinjskih vrsta?