<Tr> <Td> Python molurus bivittatus </Td> <Td> Burmese python, Indian python </Td> <Td> Southeast Asia / 1979 </Td> <Td> Imported by / through pet trade </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="3"> Perhaps no other invasive species has attracted as much media attention as Burmese pythons in Florida, particularly after spectacular photographs and eyewitness accounts of struggles between native alligators and these snakes were released . Burmese pythons have voracious appetites and have been found to eat animals ranging in size from wrens to white - tailed deer . A study published in 2011 found some mammal populations have dropped over 90 percent in areas populated by pythons . Burmese pythons share the top of the food chain in the Everglades with alligators and prey on 39 endangered species and 41 additional rare species . They continue to be sold as pets; around 6,000 pythons were imported into Miami from 2003 to 2005 . They are removed immediately from Everglades National Park; as of 2007, national park staff report extracting a total of 600 pythons . Another 300 were captured in 2008 alone . A park biologist estimated that between 5,000 and 180,000 Burmese pythons live in wilderness areas in South Florida . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Iguana iguana </Td> <Td> Green iguana </Td> <Td> Central America / 1960s </Td> <Td> Imported by / through pet trade </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="3"> Iguanas have expanded rapidly in the Everglades by eating native vegetation and reproducing very efficiently in urban areas following disturbances accompanied by new plant growth . Following Hurricane Andrew in 1992, there was a significant increase in sightings of iguanas near residential areas . They are drawn to areas near water and build burrows by digging horizontally into inclines . They often live in colonies and their digging worsens erosion near canals, levees, and other man - made structures, leading to canal and levee instability . Although they are primarily herbivores, they have also preyed upon tree snails, which can be native only to single tree islands or have very limited ranges, including Orthalicus reses and Liguus fasciatus which are threatened and rare species . </Td> </Tr>

Which invasive species is currently causing ecological havoc in the everglades