Reporting from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - The largest snake in Africa, a powerful constrictor that consumes goats, wart hogs and crocodiles, has been found east of the Everglades, raising the possibility that it is breeding in the wild in a state already overrun with nonnative wildlife.
Authorities are investigating the discovery of three African rock pythons, including a juvenile and a female with eggs, in Miami-Dade County over the last few months.
Although state wildlife officials hope these were simply released pets, they are taking seriously the danger that the African rock python has established itself alongside another nonnative constrictor, the Burmese python, now estimated to number in the thousands in Everglades National Park.
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