Kym Clark did what any person would do when she saw an 18-foot python slithering across the road in Everglades National Park — she slammed on her brakes, took out her phone and started recording. What she filmed would later go viral and lead her on a journey that would change her life.
At the height of her video’s popularity, a professional python hunter invited Clark on a hunt. Then, doing what most others probably wouldn’t, she accepted the invitation. From then on, Clark decided to become a full-time python hunter, dedicating her life to the management of the Burmese python species in Florida.
Clark is a wildlife photographer, conservationist and, more recently, a Burmese python hunter. During a recent lecture, “Predators in Paradise: The Battle to Unravel the Python’s Devastating Grip on Wild Florida,” Clark detailed not only her personal accounts as a python hunter, but also the story of the Burmese python’s arrival in Florida and efforts to manage the invasive species ever since. Held Dec. 11 at the Florida Keys Wildlife Society on Big Pine Key, attendees filled the room that was packed with eager ears and skittish excitement.
The Burmese python isn’t native to South Florida. It’s primarily found in the jungles and grasslands of Southeast Asia. But in the ’70s and ’80s, exotic pets became popular, and Burmese pythons began to be imported, bred and kept by people in Florida. While some believe irresponsible owners dumped their snakes in the Everglades when they grew too big, it’s widely reported that the Burmese python boom began after the Category 5 Hurricane Andrew destroyed breeding facilities in South Florida in 1992.
With no natural predators, the Burmese python population exploded in Florida and has since been wreaking havoc on local wildlife in Everglades National Park.
“They have practically eradicated all land animals now. The only thing you’ll see are cotton rats, because there aren’t enough predators to control their population,” said Clark. “It’s estimated there are 300,000 pythons in Florida, but I believe there could be more.”
When the Q&A portion of the talk commenced, everyone wanted to know the same thing: How close are they getting to the Keys? Luckily for the Lower Keys, it doesn’t appear the python population can make the trip. However, breeding nests have been found as far south as Key Largo, and work is being done to stop the reptiles from sliding any further south.
Approximately 80 pythons have been caught in the Florida Keys (though not by Clark, who has caught one python in the Florida Keys), and each one that’s removed saves hundreds of native animals.
What does Clark do with all the dead pythons she removes from the Everglades? She makes custom jewelry with the python hides and brings her larger catches to lectures like these so attendees can see them with their own eyes.
“I always have mixed feelings about (euthanizing pythons), but I try to think about it in a logical manner rather than an emotional way. Euthanizing one Burmese python saves thousands of native wildlife,” Clark wrote on her Instagram page @kym_clark, which shows her photography, conservation work and python catches.
Clark encourages everyone to do their part in managing the Burmese python population in Florida, but insists newcomers to the python-hunting world take a class (or several) before marching off into the marshes.
