<P> Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) are native to Southeast Asia . However, since the end of the 20th century, they have become an established breeding population in South Florida . Although Burmese pythons were first sighted in Everglades National Park in the 1980s, they were not officially recognized as a reproducing population until 2000 . Since then, the number of python sightings has exponentially increased with over 300 sightings from 2008 to 2010 . </P> <P> Burmese pythons prey on a wide variety of birds, mammals, and crocodilian species occupying the Everglades . Pronounced declines in a number of mammalian species have coincided spatially and temporally with the proliferation of pythons in southern Florida, indicating the already devastating impacts upon native animals . Although the low detectability of pythons makes population estimates difficult, most researchers propose that at least 30,000 and upwards of 300,000 pythons likely occupy southern Florida and that this population will only continue to grow . The importation of Burmese pythons was banned in the United States in January 2012 by the U.S. Department of the Interior . </P> <P> The Burmese pythons in Florida are classified as an invasive species in the area . Invasive species disrupt the introduced ecosystem by preying on native species, outcompeting native species for food or other resources, and / or disrupting the physical nature of the environment . Several life history traits of Burmese pythons characterize them as a particularly successful invasive species . Because of their large size, and as a nonnative species, adult Burmese pythons have few predators within Florida, apart from alligators and humans . Although hatchlings have an increased likelihood of being preyed upon, they are comparable in size or even larger than adult native snake species and quickly reach sizes that reduce their vulnerability to predation . </P> <P> The high reproductive potential, low age at sexual maturity, and longevity of Burmese pythons clarify why controlling the population through removal of individuals would be difficult . A typical female breeds every other year, produces a clutch of between twenty and fifty eggs, and can live for twenty years or more . </P>

Why are pythons an invasive species in the everglades