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More than 500 non-native species have been reported in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Widlife Conservation Commission. 

The FWC stood before a Senate subcommittee this month to justify a non-native species control budget that has almost doubled since 2022. 

Invasive species are non-native animals that cause harm to the environment.

In Florida, that includes lionfish, Burmese pythons, chameleons and more.  

FWC chief Conservation offer George Warthen faced questions about the severity of invasive species such as the Burmese Python, from senators including Republican Meg Weinberger. 

“Weinberger: Are pythons, is there anything that can kill a python in the Everglades or are they pretty much the ones killing everything?

Warthen: It’s likely once they are an adult, they’re an apex predator, they’re at the top of the food chain. You do see, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to see alligators, any species that would eat a large to moderate snake in Florida, but once they exceed that size, what we think of, what you see in the movies, a 20-foot python, there’s really not a predator for them out there.”

This summer, the participants in Florida Python Challenge removed almost 300 pythons.

Now the FWC planned for almost 6.3 million dollars to control the species for the 2025-26 year, a sharp jump from the 3.4 million in 2021-22. 

When asked, FWC chief Conservation officer George Warthen says that once non-native species get a foothold in the state, they have to shift to more costly measures to control them. 

“As we have more of these species that we talk about going into management, like the wild hog, and like iguanas have really reached for us now, it becomes much much more expensive than the prevention,” Warthen said.

Efforts include an app to report species, competitions to remove pythons and lionfish as well as partnerships with the University of Florida and University of Central Florida to track pythons. 

“Finding pythons is very very difficult, and I think we’re going to have to find non-human interactions, AI traps, and things that we hear are working out there are probably going to be some of our biggest helpers in the future,” Warthen said.

Warthen suggested that eradicating animals like the wild hog and burmese python may not ever be a reality, despite the efforts of wildlife managers.

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