Florida Has a Python Problem…Our Guest is the Solution

Snakes…why'd it have to be snakes? There’s a Burmese Python problem in Florida’s Everglades which is dramatically altering the ecological balance in the Sunshine State. Currently, the only way to control these non-native, invasive snakes, is to send hunters deep into allegator infested swamps to find, capture, and kill these apex predators. Really, no Really! You might imagine these Hunters as burly “Crocodile Dundee-types” with sophisticated equipment, night vision, Rambo-style bowie knives, and guns, lots of guns. But reality is quite different. Our guest today Amy Siewe styles herself as the “Python Huntress;” she’s a 5’4, 120lbs. woman who by trade is a realtor, who regularly captures these beasts – some as big as 20 feet, 250 pounds - using only a canvas bag and her wits. She has killed over 400 pythons using a quick and humane method but the number of endangered or threatened native species being eaten by these pythons is getting longer each year. Is this really the best solution to this problem and what does she do with all those dead snakes? The answers might surprise you.   IN THIS EPISODE: How Amy transformed from mild-mannered Indiana-based realtor to “Python Huntress.” Does she speak Parseltongue…the language of snakes? Step-by-step instructions capturing a 17-footer…alone! What snake Periscoping means. Vipers, allegators, panthers, and bears oh my! All the things stalking Amy as she hunts. We analyze our collective fear and loathing of snakes. How do you humanely euthanize huge snakes while in the muck of Florida’s Everglades? Amy’s message to prospective buyers of commercial pythons and exotics… Jason’s close encounter with a snake at “America’s Stonehenge.” SEE one man’s emotional support allegator. Is this legit? Googleheim: Pythons are just one of the many invasive species harming Florida’s ecology.   FOLLOW AMY SIEWE: WATCH Amy take down a 17ft python Website: PythonHuntress.com Instagram: @ThePythonHuntress YouTube: Python Huntress Amy Siewe X/Twitter: @AmySiewe Facebook: Amy Siewe   FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY: www.reallynoreally.com Instagram YouTube TikTok Facebook Threads X (Twitter) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices