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25 Specially-Selected Hunters Join Pilot Program To Eliminate Predatory Pythons

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – It is python hunting time in the Florida Everglades.

Over the next two months, 25 specially-selected hunters will take part in a new program to find and kill the pythons that can wreak havoc on the Everglades' delicate ecosystem.

CBS4 Photojournalist Rafael Murciano set out with the experts in search of those snakes.

The 25 hunters taking part in this pilot program were chosen from a pool of 1,000.

They'll earn minimum wage plus a bounty for every python they capture. The bigger the snake, the bigger the check!

In the example below, an 8-foot python would pay out $150.

Python Hunter Rewards
(Source: sfwmd.gov)

An additional $100 for each eliminated python found guarding "nests" with eggs.

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