Quite some time before US President Donald Trump began rounding up people who had sneaked into his country, deporting them back home, a similar exercise was on quietly in the State of Florida. Non-natives, mostly Asian, were being caught and killed.
But who can fault the locals? The invaders had come all the way from places like Burma.
An estimated 300,000 Burmese pythons were certainly not behaving like model immigrants assimilating into the American way of life. On the contrary, they were wreaking havoc on the local ecosystem, decimating natives such as deer and alligators.
Floridians, who have had enough of these unwelcome arrivals, have rolled out the ‘Florida Python Challenge’. Participants pay an entry fee of $25, pick up their gear and venture into the swampy forests, looking for the slithering devils. There are multiple prizes under different categories, such as the size of the catch.
There are separate prizes for professionals and novices, so that no enthusiast is left behind.
The competition is a big hit. Dozens of python hunters arrive in large swamp buggies — trucks with extra-large tyres to take on the marshes.
The 2024 winner was Ronald Kiger, bagging the $10,000 Ultimate Grand Prize after eliminating 20 Burmese pythons.
The Florida Python Challenge may be a fun sporting activity, but its intentions are serious — environmental conservation — namely elimination of an invasive species to protect the natives.
India has its share of troubles with invasive species, including the catfish, which was introduced for commercial breeding in 1990 but soon became a threat to local species and was banned by the National Green Tribunal.
Lantana camara, an ornamental plant, is another major invasive species that out-competes natives for resources.
The Florida Python Challenge seeks to shine a light on the problem of invasive species. Looks like it found its biggest fan in Donald Trump.