Florida teenager captures 28 Burmese pythons to win ecology challenge prize

A South Florida teenager captured 28 Burmese pythons during a 10-day competition that was created to increase awareness about the threats the invasive snakes pose to the state’s ecology.

Matthew Concepcion was among 1,000 participants from 32 states, Canada and Latvia who participated in the annual challenge, which removed 231 of the unwanted pythons, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

The 19-year-old was rewarded for his efforts with the 10,000 US dollars (£8,785) Ultimate Grand Prize courtesy of the Bergeron Everglades Foundation.

Dustin Crum won a 1,500 dollars (£1,318) for removing the longest python – one measuring just over 11ft (3.3m).

Earlier this year, a team of biologists hauled in the heaviest Burmese python ever captured in Florida.

The female weighed in at 215lb (98kg), was nearly 18ft long (5m) and had 122 developing eggs, according to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

Burmese pythons are not protected except by Florida’s anti-cruelty law, so participants had to document that each one was killed humanely.

Mr Concepcion told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that he has been hunting pythons for about five years, and typically looks for them at night because that is when they are on the move, seeking the warmth of roads. He uses his vehicle lights to spot them.

This year, however, he only spotted one on the roads in the Everglades, so he changed strategy.

“I worked a levee, caught a couple hatchings, and was like ‘Dang, this might be the ticket!’ So every single night from then on, I went out there – just before sundown to sunup.”

He said he walked the canal, using a torch to probe the underbrush.

Smaller snakes are so well camouflaged that he looks for their shadows cast by the beam, he told the newspaper. But larger snakes are easier to find.

“They will have a slightly purple tint to them. They’re really beautiful.”

Mr Concepcion said he may use some of his earnings to buy a powerful lighting set-up for his truck, which will help him spot more snakes.

South Florida Water Management District Governing Board member “Alligator Ron” Bergeron said: “Our python hunters are passionate about what they do and care very much about Florida’s precious environment.

“We are removing record numbers of pythons and we’re going to keep at it.”