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Summary:
The Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, created the first ever "Python Posse" to cut down the snake population inside the state, and the Everglades. This entire situation came about when a young toddler was killed by a python, and then bounty hunters went into action. Orginally the snake population grew when locals began to keep the Burmese Pythons as pets. But again, they found themselves wondering, "is killing them really the answer?" A letter that will be written by PETA, states that there will be a ban on all exotic pets in the United States, and that the hunt will be humane, because the snakes are hard to kill without causing suffering. Oh the other hand, a snake expert says that pythons have killed 12 people in the US, and maybe a hunt is actually neccessary. By the end of the article, it seems a conclusion had been made and that licensed and well trained trappers will kill the snakes on state lands.
Image: http://www.examiner.com/exotic-pets-in-salt-lake-city/burmese-python-with-open-mouthphoto
This photo is of a Burmese python, (obviously a hungry one as well!). This just goes to show how dangerous this species is, and why a hunt is neccessary. This image connects to the article because this type of snake is the main focus.
Opionion/Relflection:
I found this article to be very interesting,but yet very controversial. I feel as if the trappers and government are just killing the pythons for human safety (and tourists), but do they take into consideration what would happen to the rest of the ecosystem if the python was elimenated? I suppose I was just taken back when the article mentioned very little of what the effects of killing this snake would do. I made a connection to class when the article brough up 'exotic pet', and clearly what it had done to the native species. I still don't neccessarily agree with killing these snakes, I mean they only killed 12 people in the US, and yet about 311,591,917 live here. I believe that the government and other snake experts should have came up with a better plan, rather than completely destroying the species.
Questions:
1. What is your opinion on killing the pythons-are you for it or against it? Why?
2. What happened to create this entire "Python Posse" situation?
3. What exactly does the PETA plan on writing in their letter?
4. How do you feel about Dr. Greene's view on the issue? Agree? Disagree?
5. What animal does the python eat? How will eliminating the python effect that species?
Thanks for reading and have a hissss-terical day! :)
Opinion/Reaction
ReplyDeleteMy first thought when I read this was “WOW!” I can’t believe that humans would actually want to take action by killing the snakes on purpose. I have heard of people killing animals is there were too many in one area, but this is just unbelievable. The more I think about it the more I wonder what other options they have. They don’t need to kill all of them, but maybe a few to decrease the chances of them hurting and killing people. Another thing that shocks me is that some of this is taking place in a national park. Aren’t parks supposed to help animals stay safe in a natural environment? I feel like people aren’t considering what could happen when they remove the whole species. It never said if the people who have been killed were hurting the snakes in anyway and maybe they got bit because the snake was feeling threatened and became defensive. I feel bad for the snakes, but if I was the one getting bit, I would probably want them dead too.
Expansion
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/1024/Will-Florida-s-Burmese-pythons-move-north-How-far
This article is pretty interesting. It talks about the snakes possible moving north to places like South Carolina. Surprisingly the snakes can live in colder temperature. Since they aren’t very welcomed in the south, another option is for the snakes to come to the north. The only problem with this is that the same thing could happen. The snakes could start threatening the lives of the people and the animals that live there and people will have to kill them of again. This might not solve the whole problem, but I could be a temporary solution.
3 New Questions
1.Are there any other options available so they wouldn’t have to kill all the snakes?
2.Do you think other problems like this have occurred?
3.If you got bit by the snake, would you want to help save is? Why or why not?
Reflection: When I read this article, I was very interested because I have never heard about this issue before. My intial gut feeling was that we should not kill these snakes. No one species should be held higher than another, and I feel sometimes humans seem to forget that. Also, I can not believe the government (who is always taking steps towards animal conservation) is planning on allowing hunting on this species. Do they not realize what this could do to other animals? Maybe, rather than wiping them out, they could put them in a secure habitat, or take other steps to save humans. However, if myself or someone I knew was killed by this snake, I would see their point. I am torn with this situation and see both sides.
ReplyDeleteExpansion:
Lenny's question #5: I did some research, and found that they eat small mammals and birds, and most commonly rats or rabbits. However, larger ones even will go for goats, pigs, or gators. Since these are all fairly large animals of prey (not insects or plants), their population would increase, which means insects and plant populations may decrease. Also, some of the mammals that are prey to this snake (like gators) are endangered, and the snakes eating them could make their matters worse.
Also, here is a picture I found of a python eating a gator. I was interested in the size comparison. It's crazy how many results came up!
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=978&bih=440&tbm=isch&tbnid=-ecLodKKQ51iUM:&imgrefurl=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/1006_051006_pythoneatsgator.html&docid=runkNK1l9fMTSM&imgurl=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/images/051006_pythoneatsgator.jpg&w=461&h=321&ei=PHBNT76NCeTY0QGVwp3xAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=79&vpy=128&dur=29&hovh=187&hovw=269&tx=171&ty=86&sig=106238973459876110688&page=1&tbnh=111&tbnw=150&start=0&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0
Opinion/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article I was pretty shocked considering I didn't know how big of an issue this was before. It concerns me that this type of snake has killed 12 people in the US! On the other hand though, that is not as bad as it could be. The part that really touched me was that a toddler was killed by a Python snake. It makes me really upset to think that a child so young could die so early simply by a snake, I wonder how that family could of felt. I can now understand how serious of a topic this is. I don't think that they should wipe out the entire Python snake species, because no species should be killed. If this happened they could be causing a big disruption in the ecosystem. Something else should be done though, I'm just not so sure what. Something that is much less extreme though than killing a whole species. This actually really scared me after reading it because I always had a fear of snakes and even had to watch one eat a live mouse before, so it really made me think about it. The article was very eye-catching and concerning. I hope they make the right decision.
Expansion:
I actually just found a really short little article about the Python snake and where they are originated and how they kill, etc. It caught my attention.
http://manbir-online.com/snakes/python.htm
Question answering
#1: As for am I for the killing or against it? I definitely have to say I am against it, because like I had said above, no species deserves to die. They have caused some severe problems, and it's very concerning how dangerous they are to humans but maybe they should just preserve the pythons in certain areas. Never allow people to have them as pets.
More Questions:
#1: What effect could this have on the ecosystem if they killed all the Pythons?
#2: How could you help save the snakes instead of killing them?
#3: If a significant amount of people were recently killed due to Pythons, do you think they would choose to kill the species? Why or why not?
Opinion/Reflection
ReplyDeleteI am totally shocked at this I have exactly 12 ball pythons. I love my snakes and hearing that people are going to kill them makes me sad. I hope that people are going to find a way to do something without killing them. I think just killing animals is just wrong even if they kill us. I mean we are just killing them faster than they are killing us so why should we panic about that. I'm not an optimist; I think that we should just let them be any ways were over populating we have 7 billion people on this planet and we are growing at a massive rate. I mean we people are killing animals so we can have space to live in so aren't we just as guilty. I think that for all those people who think it is just think about it this way. What would you feel if animals were killing you and you could do nothing about it how would you feel? I personally think that it would be terrible and saddening. I don't think then you would be saying I don't care because everyone eventually had to care about their life. Also what if dogs were killing people which they are (wolves) people don't really mind about that do them. Like I said before I have 12 ball pythons and they are not even big they are all at max 4 and 1/2 feet long and really docile. I really do hope that we find a way were animals and humans can live on the same planet and all populations stay at a healthy.
Expansion
http://www.bhbreptiles.com/
On this website is where I get all of my ball pythons. It tells you what it eats at max, it tells you how long it is going to get. So if you want a pet snake of any sort it could help you see if it is right for you. I don't want to hear people abandoning their pet because it is not right for them.
Question answering
#5 well I don't know how to answer that second part but I do know about what they eat. Most pythons starting out eat baby mice. Next as they begin to grow they eat bigger mice. Then if they are a Burmese pythons and reticulate pythons get to eat large rats, bunnies, and large mice.