Post #14396

Burmese python: Thousands of giant snakes are destroying US nature The Burmese snake is becoming extinct. It is firmly listed in the Red Book, but even this is not particularly helpful, because the number of snakes has fallen by 30% in just the first decade of the 21st century. And all because of the loss of habitat and the capture of reptiles by local residents. But, ironically, it was precisely this activity that gave them a new home and a small environmental disaster for the Americans. The fact is that pythons were caught not so much for snake skin, but for sale as exotic pets. And they were sold mainly to Americans, who fell in love with snakes for their unusual appearance, calmness, easy-going disposition and lack of poison. However, even with such introductions, many American families were not prepared for life with snakes under the same roof. Especially those who bought a cool exotic cord the length of a human palm, and a year later received a two-meter living rope. A rope that continued to grow over the next 20 years of its life. And those who bought females were doubly lucky. They quickly discovered that their pythons had also begun to lay eggs, 20-30 a year, despite the complete lack of contact with the male. Almost none of the owners knew that Burmese pythons are capable of parthenogenesis: their unfertilized eggs are capable of developing into clones of the mother! Of course, careless and unprepared owners simply released excess pythons into the wild, where they died. As a rule. But in warm, humid Florida, they survived and established a stable population. They avoided local predators by hiding from them in leaf litter, on tree branches and under water. And their ability to survive without food for up to 18 (!) months due to a decrease in the size of the intestines and heart, gave them time to adapt to new conditions and find new prey. As a result, Burmese pythons in the United States have created a stable population of 30 to 300 thousand individuals and have become a real scourge that destroys all life in their habitat. In the Everglades swamps, where the python population is at its highest, they have completely wiped out rabbits, possums and raccoons have dropped by 90%, and foxes by 80%. And US environmental organizations simply don't know what to do about the creeping threat. Author: Yaroslav Ilyin 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot