Fla. Python Hunt More Wild Goose Chase

Invading snakes blamed for drastic decline in mammal populations

(NEWSER) - The native mammals of the Florida Everglades have been all but wiped out by huge numbers of pythons and anacondas descended from released pets, a new study finds. After nearly a decade of night-time road surveys in the 1.5 million-acre national park, researchers found that raccoon and opossum sightings were down 99% from the '90s, the Washington Post reports. Bobcat sightings were down 88%, and not a single rabbit or fox was seen, dead or alive. More»

Want to stay off the beaten path? Start here

(NEWSER) - If you’ve seen enough of Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon, CNN has an idea for you: Why not visit another of the country’s 397 national parks and monuments, like one of these seven you’ve probably never heard of?

• Dry Tortugas: You have to seriously want to make it all the way out to one of these seven islands 70 miles west of Key West, which are only accessible by ferry or seaplane. But don’t expect actual dryness: Tropical storms are a regular occurrence.

Lawyer blames sentence on Casey Anthony

(NEWSER) - A Florida couple whose pet Burmese python crushed the woman's 2-year-old daughter to death have been sentenced to 12 years in prison each on manslaughter and child neglect charges. Experts testified that the 8-foot-long snake was severely underweight and had tried to eat the child whole, reports the New York Daily News . The python's tank had only a quilt for a lid and it had escaped 10 times in the two months before it killed the toddler. More»

Florida cops warn against feeding 'alpha predators'

(NEWSER) - A 10-foot alligator is on the loose in North Miami Beach, which sounds bad enough—but it turns out local kids have been feeding the beast meat. They named the storm-drain resident Patrick and treated him to hot dogs and ham, which is a seriously bad idea, a police sergeant tells the Miami Herald . "People think it's like feeding the ducks, and you're not," he explains. "You're dealing with an alpha predator." More»

Florida hunts for new species of python

(NEWSER) - A state-coordinated hunt for a new invasive python population is under way in the Everglades, amid fears that Southern Florida could soon be home to a new “super snake.” The 3-day hunt launched Tuesday has so far nabbed at least five African rock pythons, one of them 14 feet long. Environmental officials fear that signals a full population of the snake out there, not a few wayward released pets, reports the Sun-Sentinel . More»