Warmer temperatures, cold-tolerant adaptations means Burmese pythons may reach Georgia

What does evolution plus climate change mean for people living in Georgia?

One, it will be warmer, which will make conditions more inviting for invasive and unwanted Burmese pythons. Also, the snakes may already be adapting to cooler conditions, which means they're spreading north anyway.

A 2023 United States Geological Survey, or USGS, report shows that Burmese pythons are expanding their range so quickly that it can be marked in miles per year in some areas.

Just six years ago the snakes were found as far north as south Fort Myers and Labelle, but in recent years they've been found across the Caloosahatchee River and in the Port Charlotte area and further north into the heart of Okeechobee.

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They're also in Cape Coral and on Pine Island now, according to the report.

At home in the jungles of Asia, the snake is now found in the entire historic Everglades except for the Kissimmee River and Chain of Lakes, and it's not going to stop spreading anytime soon, the report says.

And these snakes aren't anything like the native species you'll find in Florida. These snakes grow to monstrous sizes, to 19 feet in length and longer.

On the move:Snakes are slithering north: Where Burmese pythons have been spotted in Florida

It's unknown just how far north and west the snakes will make it but, some reports have suggested they'll get well beyond Florida's state line.

Several snakes in that range have been caught in recent years by amateur and professional hunters.

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'Cold tolerance': range uncertain as big snakes adapt

"Overall, potential range limits of Burmese pythons are uncertain," the USGS report says. "Multiple climate matching efforts have reached different conclusions. In addition, there is evidence that evolutionary change has already altered parts of the genome responsible for cold tolerance, and there is the potential for behavioral plasticity to enhance cold tolerance."

Climate change is another factor that will allow the further expansion of the snake as it prefers warmer temperatures.

"Taken together, this evidence suggests we may at least expect that pythons can tolerate climatic conditions farther north than where the population is currently established south of Lake Okeechobee," the report says.

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Cold spells like the one experienced in the winter of 2010-11 pushed back the population some, but it also likely made the snakes cold tolerant as the individuals that sought a warmer environment survived to reproduce.

"While some Burmese pythons have been known to seek refuge during cold temperatures, others may lack refuge-seeking behaviors," the report says.

Essentially, the snakes that nature programmed to hide during cold times were the ones that survived and produced today's population.

They don't like cold weather, however, and can often be found on roadways and other concrete surfaces sunning themselves during cold spells.

Food is abundant in North Florida and beyond

"To survive lethally cold air temperatures, pythons must retreat into sheltered refugia and remain there until temperatures warm again," the report says.

At home in the tropical and subtropical jungles of Southeast Asia, Burmese pythons have become one of the most dominant predators in the Everglades, competing with alligators and panthers for large food like deer and wild hogs.

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Deer and hogs are abundant in areas to the north of the Everglades, across the Southeastern United States and the Midwest.

So, the food is there. One question is whether or not they'll continue to adapt during future cold snaps as they slither north and out of the Sunshine State.

"The mild temperatures within burrows could help pythons overwinter as far north as southwestern Georgia although free-ranging pythons have not been documented that far north," the USGS report says.

How did they get here?

The first documented account of a Burmese python being found in Florida came from a 1912 incident in the Tampa area, where a vehicle ran over what was probably an escaped pet.

Over the next eight decades, various escaped pets made their ways in the wilds of south Florida, and hurricanes (like Andrew in 1992) flattened pet stores and breeding facilities in the Miami area, releasing even more snakes.

From 1995 to 2000 the snakes were found almost exclusively along a highway in Everglades National Park, but by 2005 the snakes were established east of Naples.

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They've since spread to both coasts and have even been found in the Gulf of Mexico.

The snakes, according to data gathered through 2021, now range from the upper Florida Keys to the Fisheating Creek area of Glades County on the western shore of Lake Okeechobee.