US public offered prizes for python hunt

Cash prizes are up for grabs in a program aimed at catching giant Burmese pythons in Florida. Source: AAP

PEOPLE in Florida will have their mettle tested as the wildlife service seeks help in eradicating the giant Burmese python.

The public has been asked to join in a month-long hunt for the invasive species, which, lacking natural predators, snacks on native birds, deer, bobcats and other large animals, some of them protected.

Cash prizes up to $US1,500 ($A1,400) will be up for grabs in the January program of "harvesting" the giant snakes, organised by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

"Increasing public awareness about Burmese pythons and how this invasive species is a threat to the Everglades ecosystem, including native wildlife, is the goal of the 2013 Python Challenge," a statement said.

The environmental challenge is open not only to "python permit holders" but also ordinary members of the public.

A Burmese python was found for the first time in Florida's Everglades swamp in 1979, where it may have been abandoned by a pet owner. It has taken 21 years to become an established species there.

There are now hundreds of thousands of the snakes slithering across southern Florida. In August, University of Florida scientists examined a record 5.36-metre specimen that had 87 eggs.

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