Burmese pythons are an invasive species in the Everglades, and the challenge is part of initiative to remove them

Python hunters in Florida will begin competing in the state’s annual removal competition one minute after the clock strikes midnight on Friday.

More than 900 contestants vying for the $10,000 grand prize scoured South Florida for 10 days during the 2026 Florida Python Challenge.

Burmese pythons are recognizable by more than their size. Hunters should be on the lookout for a telltale, arrow-shaped marking on the snake’s head, along with giraffe-like spots across its body and dark spots around its eyes. During the summer months, they’re most likely to be found sunning on levee banks or near trees.

Burmese pythons in Florida are devouring animals as small as rabbits and as big as deer and alligators. How they do it is fascinating and unsettling.

At Wildman's Pizza, Pasta and Pythons in Everglades City, Florida, hunters can trade invasive Burmese pythons for a free large specialty pizza during the state's annual python-removal challenge, a local promotion tied to the Everglades' larger fight against the destructive snakes.

Experts across the Sunshine State are monitoring an increasing presence of the deadly Burmese Python in the Everglades.