MIAMI – A cluster of python captures within a square mile in South Florida has wildlife officials scrambling to prevent a new breed from spreading.
Authorities are investigating the discovery of three African rock pythons in west Miami-Dade County over the past few months, including a juvenile and a female with eggs. The snake is similar in size and appearance to the Burmese python that has increased in numbers in the Everglades since the early '90s, only considered much more aggressive.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission plans to send officers to the area where the snakes were found.
The spread of pythons, while not anything new in the state, has increasingly come into the public spotlight since an 8-foot Burmese pet python suffocated a 2-year-old girl in her bedroom in central Florida in July.
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