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Florida Launches $25K Python Challenge Amid Invasive Threat

7/18/2026

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Summary

Story summary

The Florida Python Challenge launched on July 10, providing $25,000 in prizes and a $10,000 grand prize.
Amy Siewe posted a Facebook video of a python constricting a rat and warned that thousands of hidden pythons amplify the threat.
Florida officials said Burmese pythons eat mammals, birds, reptiles, threatened wood stork and endangered Largo woodrat, requiring about 200 prey to reach 10 feet in three years.

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Story summary

The Florida Python Challenge launched on July 10, providing $25,000 in prizes and a $10,000 grand prize.
Amy Siewe posted a Facebook video of a python constricting a rat and warned that thousands of hidden pythons amplify the threat.
Florida officials said Burmese pythons eat mammals, birds, reptiles, threatened wood stork and endangered Largo woodrat, requiring about 200 prey to reach 10 feet in three years.