Florida's python hunt coming soon. What to know about the reigning champ

Here's what we know about the 2026 Florida Python Challenge, how the yearly hunt works and a little bit about last year's winner.

Florida Scientists Found an Unlikely Python-Tracking Trick After a Snake Ate an Opossum

Scientists found a shocking way to track Florida’s invasive pythons: let the snakes swallow GPS-collared opossums.
Naples Daily News

Are pythons more active in Florida during spring, summer months?

Are Florida's invasive Burmese pythons are more active in warmer months? Signs show signs of cold tolerance, potentially spreading north.

How many humans does it take to measure a huge Burmese python? Three.

Carl Jackson caught a nearly 17-ft long Burmese python weighing over 200lbs as part of an effort to rid Florida of the invasive snake.

Opossums vs. Pythons: Inside Florida's Unusual Strategy for Fighting Invasive Snakes

Florida scientists are using opossums to secretly track invasive Burmese pythons in the Everglades-and it's working.

Why Florida scientists are putting GPS collars on opossums to track giant Burmese pythons

A bizarre discovery in Florida: GPS-collared opossums are now helping researchers hunt invasive Burmese pythons.
Hoodline

Key Largo’s ‘Spy’ Opossums Lead Hunters To Giant Pythons

In Key Largo this spring, wildlife crews started turning local opossums into unlikely scouts, slipping lightweight tracking collars around their necks and releasing them back into the mangrove thickets.

Possums vs. pythons: How Florida’s only marsupial became a weapon against invasive snakes

Docile, furry and cute to some, possums have become an unexpected ally in the effort to slow the invasion of Burmese pythons, a snake that has decimated ecosystems in Florida.