Burmese Pythons Invade the Everglades

In one of my math classes, Operations Research, we looked at real life problems and used linear programming to help us find solutions. One of the problems proposed were the evasive species of Burmese Pythons invading the Everglades. Florida is currently facing the problem of trying to control the pythons but since they eat pretty much everything and are extremely difficult to find let alone catch. The snakes actually go brought over to the US as pets, but are rapidly spreading as an evasive species. The reason I bring this up is because since the US is getting warmer, there is now a larger area that these snakes are able to survive in. These snakes are one of the largest snakes on the planet, and although 2,000 have already been killed, that is only a fraction that is still out there. The snakes are beginning to gain ground in moving up Florida, and in no time they could continue to move right up the US. Climate change and global warming is making it easier for these snakes to survive in places they possibly never could have before, making them an even worse threat for us.

Source #1: United States. National Park Service. "Burmese Pythons." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, 18 May 2014. Web. 20 May 2014.