More than 50 were removed from the park from the mid-1990s to 2003. The snakes are a popular pet, especially as hatchlings that can curl harmlessly around an owner's wrist.īut when they grow to 20 feet or more with jaws that can overtake a basketball, Burmese Pythons become challenging to house and feed. The unruly size of the Burmese Python is one reason wildlife officials believe pet owners dump them in South Florida's vast swamplands. Some tourists have gotten out of their cars to move what they thought was a large branch from the road, only to be alarmed when a huge snake slithers away. He added that the larger reptiles seen stretched across roads could cause a traffic accident. "They do have a nasty bite and they clearly do have the tools to injure if not kill someone," Snow said. Tourists have seen the reptiles attacked by large alligators only to escape. But their size makes them a threatening presence in the Everglades and they have no predators.
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To make sure Pete does not become a snack for a big snake or alligator, Oberhofer keeps him on a short red leash during training sessions and says he will never roam free in the wilderness.īurmese pythons are not poisonous. Only one answer will net him a treat and a good tug with his favorite toy. Oberhofer tests him by hiding those objects in plastic containers and asking the puppy to pick out the python.
Like his counterparts at airports, Pete already can tell the difference between bananas, socks and snakes. Customs officials also take advantage of the dog's sensitive snout to track down harmful pests, fruits and vegetables at airports. Department of Agriculture officials use the breed to find the invasive brown tree snake in airport cargo. Oberhofer sought out a beagle to become her newest pet and daily sidekick at Everglades National Park after working on a research project in Guam, where U.S. It's a big game for him," said owner and wildlife technician Lori Oberhofer, as she plays a tug-of-war game with Pete, who has the toy clenched firmly in his teeth. Hensley himself later died from a snake bite."He just loves doing it. Hensley purported to be able to handle the snake with impunity, and when he came down the mountain he proclaimed the truth of following all five of the signs in Mark. Snake handling gained momentum when George Hensley, a Pentecostal minister working in various Southern states in the early 1900s, recounted an experience where, while on a mountain, a serpent slithered beside him.
In the King James Version of the Bible, Mark 16:17-18 reads: “And these signs shall follow them that believe In my name shall they cast out devils they shall speak with new tongues They shall take up serpents and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” The basis for the practice is a passage in the Gospel of Mark. The practice of snake handling in the United States was first documented in the mountains of East Tennessee in the early 20th Century, according to Paul Williamson, a professor of psychology at Henderson State University who, along with Hood, co-wrote a book about snake handlers called, “Them That Believe.” In the 1940s and 1950s, many states made snake-handling illegal (it’s currently illegal in Kentucky), but the practice has continued, and often law enforcement simply looks the other way.
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