Florida Scientists Found an Unlikely Python-Tracking Trick After a Snake Ate an Opossum
Scientists in Florida are using an unexpected tool to fight invasive Burmese pythons in the Everglades: opossums. Specifically, opossums wearing GPS collars. And the strategy doesn’t involve following the opossums around on their daily routines. It involves waiting for the pythons to eat them.
When a Burmese python swallows a GPS-collared opossum whole, the collar keeps transmitting a location signal from inside the snake. That allows researchers to track the python’s movements and eventually find and remove it. Because opossums are one of the snakes’ favorite prey, scientists expect the method to consistently deliver results as the program expands. The strategy is now helping conservation teams locate and remove more of the invasive snakes as python populations continue damaging native wildlife across South Florida.
The entire approach traces back to a lucky accident.
A Study That Went Sideways — In the Best Way
The discovery happened in 2022. Researchers were studying the movement and behavior of small mammals along Florida’s southern coast. They placed GPS collars on opossums and raccoons as part of routine wildlife monitoring — the goal was mammal research, not python tracking.
Then a Burmese python swallowed one of the tagged animals whole, and the collar continued transmitting, allowing researchers to track the snake’s location, according to reporting from the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
That accidental data point gave researchers something they had been struggling to find: a reliable method for locating Burmese pythons in the wild. Rather than treat it as a fluke, researcher Michael Cove, along with researcher A.J. Sanjar and other conservation teams, expanded the effort to help locate and euthanize invasive pythons.
Cove told the South Florida Sun Sentinel in 2023, “We need everything that we can find to remove as many pythons as possible.”
Researchers now hope to have at least 40 GPS-collared opossums in the program by later this summer. Because opossums are common prey for Burmese pythons, scientists expect some of the animals will eventually be eaten, turning them into indirect tracking devices for the snakes.
The Numbers That Explain the Urgency
The reason scientists are willing to try something this unconventional comes down to what Burmese pythons have already done to native wildlife.
Burmese pythons have reduced raccoon populations by 99%, opossums by 98% and bobcats by 88%, contributing to major ecological disruption in the Everglades, according to researchers and wildlife officials. The Florida Museum of Natural History notes that since arriving in Florida, the snakes have also introduced harmful non-native parasites and reduced medium-sized mammal populations by more than 90%, significantly changing the Everglades ecosystem.
Burmese pythons are an invasive species that have established a permanent breeding population in South Florida, according to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. They were introduced through the exotic pet trade in the late 1900s, often through escaped or intentionally released pets. The first recorded wild Burmese python in South Florida was documented in 1979 in Everglades National Park, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Since then, the snakes have become top predators in the ecosystem. They continue expanding their range in Florida, with the U.S. Geological Survey reporting that their spread can be measured in miles per year in some regions.
The Size of What Researchers Are Up Against
The heaviest python ever caught in Florida weighed 215 pounds and measured 18 feet long. It was captured in 2022 in Naples by a biologist with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
The longest Burmese python ever captured in Florida was recorded in July 2023 and measured more than 19 feet, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The Criticism — and the Pointed Rebuttal
Some criticism has emerged over using live prey this way. But wildlife officials say the opossums being fitted with GPS collars are not being placed in additional danger. The pythons are already out there, and the opossums are already at risk.
Jeremy Dixon told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on April 19, “We’re not putting these animals out there and in harm’s way. Harm’s way is there. We’re just documenting what’s happening.”
Researchers hope the GPS-collared opossum strategy will help slow the ecological damage by improving how quickly conservation teams can locate and remove the snakes before they continue spreading.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
