Herp Alliance

08/21/2026

Scum bag...

The Tiger King and Chimp Crazy director turns his lens on the the global reptile-smuggling trade

08/20/2026

One Florida python hunter just removed 96 invasive Burmese pythons in a single day, setting a new Florida Python Challenge record in the process.

Veteran python hunter Tom Rahill, 69, took home the $10,000 grand prize in the 2026 Florida Python Challenge after accounting for 96 of the 280 pythons removed during the 10-day competition. That means one man was responsible for more than a third of the entire event's haul. Even crazier, according to MeatEater, all 96 came from a single day's effort inside Everglades National Park. (Sources: MeatEater, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)

There's an important detail behind that incredible number. Rahill and his partner encountered a roughly 17-foot female python and then searched the surrounding area for a nest. They found 98 eggs, 96 of which had already hatched. Those hatchlings counted as live python removals, giving Rahill his record-setting total. In other words, this wasn't a guy stumbling across 96 giant adult snakes in a day, but it may have been even more significant from a management standpoint. Those were 96 young predators that won't grow up, reproduce and spend years feeding on native Florida wildlife. (Source: MeatEater)

The 2026 Challenge ran July 10 through July 19 and attracted 907 participants from 30 states, Canada and Vietnam. Collectively they removed 280 Burmese pythons. Florida says more than 27,000 pythons have been reported removed from the wild since 2000, while professional removal contractors operate year-round outside the annual competition. (Sources: FWC, The Guardian)

And there's a reason Florida is putting this much effort into killing snakes. Burmese pythons are an invasive apex predator with virtually no natural population control in the Everglades. They consume birds, reptiles and mammals ranging from rabbits and raccoons to bobcats, deer and even alligators. Females can lay 50 to more than 100 eggs at a time. Research has associated python expansion with devastating declines in several native mammal populations in portions of the Everglades. (Sources: FWC, MeatEater)

This is wildlife management in its most obvious form. Humans introduced an invasive predator into an ecosystem where it doesn't belong, and now humans have a responsibility to remove as many as possible. There isn't a realistic scenario where we simply "leave nature alone" and expect the Everglades to sort this out.

One python removed is good. A breeding female removed is better. A breeding female plus nearly 100 hatchlings removed before they can spread across the Everglades is one heck of a day for Florida wildlife.

Have you participated in this? Would you ever sign up for the Florida Python Challenge?

08/20/2026

08/20/2026

WHAT A CROC: 69 live animals — including venomous vipers and a baby crocodile — found stuffed in taped-shut pillowcases inside a hidden car compartment at the U.S.-Mexico border.

CBP officers didn't discover the animals until the morning after arresting the driver on an outstanding wildlife trafficking warrant. The reptiles had been sealed inside the vehicle for nearly 24 hours in August heat — three caimans died.

The 66-year-old Tijuana woman and her alleged partner face federal Lacey Act charges after an 18-month undercover investigation.

➡ Full story here: https://www.foxnews.com/us/69-live-animals-found-stuffed-pillowcases-hidden-car-compartment-border-arrest-feds

08/18/2026

Snakes will never win a popularity contest.The low-profile reptiles have amassed a following of haters that dates back to Biblical times. The “serpent” is often associated with deception, danger and evil.Owen Bachhuber wants to know why.The Arizona State University doctoral student and ophidioph...

08/13/2026

Getting ready...

🦎🐍🐢

08/07/2026

Florida’s 2026 Python Challenge just wrapped up, and Tom Rahill ran away with it. He removed 96 Burmese pythons during the 10-day event and took home the $10,000 Ultimate Grand Prize. Last year’s champion, Taylor Stanberry, won the 2025 challenge with 60 pythons, and she still had a strong showing this year, finishing as the Professional runner-up with 34 pythons and winning $1,500. Altogether, 907 participants removed 280 pythons this year.

In total, the challenge gave away $25,000 in cash prizes. Christina Kraus won $2,500 for most pythons in the Professional category with 36, Bart Shreve won $2,500 in Novice with 9, and U.S. Army competitor Stephen Payton won $2,500 in Military with 3. The runner-up checks were $1,500 each, and the longest-python winners each got $1,000, including Rahm Levinson, who brought in the biggest snake of the challenge at 16 feet, 5 inches.

— Stephen Ziegler
Outdoor writer | Rack Junkies Podcast

08/07/2026

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