The Florida Python Challenge^™ is a ten-day competition encouraging participants to remove Burmese pythons from seven Commission-managed lands in south Florida.

The python removal competition begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 9, 2024 and ends at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 18, 2024.

The Burmese python is a large, nonvenomous constrictor snake that is an invasive species in Florida. Burmese pythons were introduced to Florida via the pet trade and are now well established in the Everglades, where the snake represents a threat to the ecosystem, including native wildlife. Burmese pythons prey on native Florida species of mammals, birds and reptiles.

Only Burmese pythons removed from these seven competition locations are valid entries for the Florida Python Challenge^™:

• Southern Glades Wildlife and Environmental Area
• Frog Pond Public Small Game Hunting Area
• Rocky Glades Public Small Game Hunting Area
• Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area
• Holey Land Wildlife Management Area
• Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area
• Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area

Everglades Holiday Park (26.060603, -80.443669)

Monroe Station at Big Cypress WMA (25.862881, -81.099572)

Rocky Glades (25.608659, -80.512314)

Learn more about check stations, hours of operation and Training Outposts.

Yes. All participants must read the Rules and take the Required Online Training prior to Registration. Participants must have a copy of their registration email confirmation (printed or digital) in their possession when removing pythons for the competition. Participants should email PythonChallenge@MyFWC.com if they encounter any difficulties during registration.

Yes. The registration fee is $25.00 per person paid to the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida. This fee is non-refundable. 

Yes. All participants must read the Rules and take the Required Online Training and must receive a passing quiz score of 85% or higher. Participants can also view the Optional Training and the Tool Kit which include additional tools to help search for and safely capture pythons.

Yes. In order to have the most accurate information each year, all participants regardless of age, must individually complete this Required Online Training and enter their own unique certificate completion code during Registration. The following will be rejected if entered during registration and the registration cancelled:

• A code from a previous Florida Python Challenge™ year
• Shared codes between family or friends who register
• Invalid codes / attempting to falsify a code

No. Registered participants do not need a Florida hunting license or a Wildlife Management Area permit to participate in the Florida Python Challenge^™. FWC Python Action Team Removing Invasive Constrictors members and SFWMD Python Elimination Program members must follow the terms and conditions in their contracts while participating in competition locations.

Yes. Participants from other states and countries are allowed to register and compete in this event. All participants must read the Rules and take the Required Online Training prior to Registration.

Yes. Youth under the age of 18 must have their parent or legal guardian complete their registration. Youth must also be accompanied by a registered adult while participating in the competition. Parents or legal guardians accept all liability for their children’s participation. All participants regardless of age must individually complete the Required Online Training and receive their own completion code.

Participants may work together when removing pythons during the competition. Participants who wish to work as a team must register as individuals and each pay the $25.00 fee. Pythons may only be submitted under the name of an individual participant. Prize determination is based upon submissions from individual participants and will not be based on submissions from an entire team.

MyFWC.com/Python

SFWMD PEP

Participants must have a copy of their completed email registration (printed or digital) in their possession when removing pythons for the competition. Novice participants may not transport live pythons at any time, and will need a tool to humanely kill pythons on-site at the time of capture. All participants need a datasheet for each python submitted to a check station.

The Tool Kit has additional resources you will need, including a map of check station locations, official competition rules, specific area regulations, guidelines on how to humanely kill pythons, information on how to identify Burmese pythons and information on how to respect the Everglades habitat while participating in the competition. 

Yes. In 2023, the FWC issued Executive Order 23-16 that allows for year-long lethal take of nonnative reptiles in 32 Commission-managed lands in south Florida. Neither a hunting license nor WMA permit are required to conduct these activities in these areas. Learn more about removing Burmese pythons in Florida. 

The use of dogs or other animals to search for, capture or kill pythons is prohibited for participants during this competition.  

Drones/Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are prohibited for participants during the Florida Python Challenge™.  

Novices must adhere to Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) requirements that apply to the general public. Those requirements can be found at Off-Road Vehicle Use - Big Cypress National Preserve (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov). Big Cypress WMA is the only competition location which allows ORV use in designated areas with a valid permit. The ORV permit office does not issue permits until the beginning of August. Participants registered as Professionals must adhere to the ORV requirements in the NPS terms and conditions for python removal contractors for the FWC PATRIC or SFWMD PEP programs. 

First, check for scout snake tags, scan the python for any external fluorescent orange or pink tags (near the head or tail). If a tag is present, take a photo if the tag with the identification number and release the animal alive at the site of capture. Submit the photograph of the tag number with capture location (GPS) and date to bicy_python@nps.gov or melissamiller@ufl.edu within 24 hours of capture to receive credit for the capture.

After capture and checking for scout snakes tags, if there is no scout snake tag, Novice participants must humanely kill the python on-site at the time and location of capture. All participants must submit humanely killed pythons to official event check stations within 24 hours of capture. All participants must chill or freeze python carcasses until submission to a check station. A fully completed datasheet must be submitted for each captured Burmese python. Read the Rules for complete competition details.

Participants who wish to keep the skin of a captured Burmese python must indicate this preference by checking the box for carcass return on the datasheet. After the python is measured for official entry into the Florida Python Challenge^™  and the entry window has ended, participants will receive a single email notifying them to schedule a time to pick up the Burmese python carcass(es) from the UF Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center in Davie. The email that UF will use to contact participants is the email address listed on the datasheet. It is the participant’s responsibility to check their email for this notification from UF. 

Some Burmese pythons removed from the Everglades that have been tested for mercury levels have contained amounts of mercury considered too high for human consumption. Though it is not illegal to eat python meat, the Florida Department of Health recently finalized a consumption advisory for Burmese pythons found in Florida, advising “Do Not Consume Python” due to the high levels of mercury found in python meat. For more information regarding this advisory, please contact the Florida Department of Health.

Only Burmese pythons will be eligible for a prize as part of this competition. Other species of nonnative snakes found during the competition can be humanely killed and taken to check station locations but will not count as part of the competition.

Florida’s native snakes are an important part of the ecosystem and should be left unharmed/undisturbed. Be sure you can identify Burmese pythons and properly distinguish them from native snakes by taking the Required Online Training before you participate. If you submit a native snake, or are found to have damaged, destroyed or removed eggs from a native species, you will be disqualified from the contest.

Please visit the Florida Python Challenge^™ Prizes page for information on what prizes will be awarded.

Results from UF data collection and prize determination are final and cannot be challenged. All pythons will be verified and measured using a standardized protocol. All prize determinations will be conducted by the FWFF in coordination with the FWC and SFWMD, at their sole discretion. All prizes will be issued by the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida (FWFF).

Participants that win monetary prizes are required to fill out an IRS form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) and submit within 30 days of their prize notification to receive their winnings or will forfeit their prize.

The prizes for removing the most and the longest Burmese pythons will be awarded during the Florida Python Challenge^™ Awards Ceremony. Winners will be recognized in all categories.

The FWC and SFWMD have programs to pay contractors for their efforts to remove pythons from public lands.  For more information please see MyFWC.com/python and www.SFWMD.gov/our-work/python-program.

The FWC suggests participants contact south Florida hotels to see if they are offering any discounts. Inexpensive or free camping may be available in the area; participants can contact local state parks to inquire about camping. Everglades National Park and Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area offer inexpensive camping. Free camping is allowed on certain days within the wildlife management areas included in the Florida Python Challenge^™. Check the specific area brochures for more information.

Humane, lethal take of nonnative reptiles is allowed and encouraged year-round in all participating areas per Executive Order 23-16. To report any other nonnative wildlife species please log onto IveGot1.org or use the IVEGOT1 smart phone app and submit a photograph and GPS location of the observation.

Research agencies have implanted several Burmese pythons with radio transmitters to learn about their reproduction, movement, and habitat use. These “scout snakes” are located throughout Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades and Francis S. Taylor, Holey Land, and Rotenberger WMAs. Do not harm or remove these snakes. To receive competition credit for a captured scout snake, take a picture of the external fluorescent orange or pink tag (near the head or tail) with the identification number and release the animal alive at the site of capture. Submit the photograph of the tag number with capture location (GPS) and date to bicy_python@nps.gov or melissamiller@ufl.edu within 24 hours of capture to receive credit for the capture. Participants do not need to measure the scout snake; the research agencies will provide the known lengths of any captured scout snakes.

Yes. Hatchling Burmese pythons are also part of the scout snake research program. Hatchlings have no external tags or marks, unlike the adult scout snakes. Look on the body for sutures and a transmitter bulge. You may also attempt to check for a PIT tag implanted along the spine. Record the capture time and location. 

Take photos of the suture site and snake scale pattern, then release the hatchling where you found it. Send information to the research teams at bicy_python@nps.gov or  melissamiller@ufl.edu within 24 hours of capture to receive credit for the capture.

If you accidently kill a hatchling scout snake, contact the research teams identified above to recover the transmitter and collect necropsy data.