Registration opens for annual Florida Python Challenge
May 24, 2023 GMTMIAMI (AP) — Registration opened Wednesday for the 2023 Florida Python Challenge, giving participants a chance to win a share of more than $30,000 in prizes while removing invasive Burmese pythons from the wild.
BENTLEY, La. (AP) — They were born and raised in captivity, but as they slowly slithered away from their handlers and disappeared into gopher holes in the Kisatchie National Forest, the group of Louisiana pine snakes appeared to be right at home.
US: Protect Louisiana, Texas land for rare burrowing snake
November 7, 2022 GMTNEW ORLEANS (AP) — Four areas in Louisiana and two in Texas should be protected as critical habitat for a rare snake that eats pocket gophers and takes over the rodents' burrows, the federal government says.
Escaped king cobra crawls back to Swedish terrarium
October 30, 2022 GMTHELSINKI (AP) — A venomous 2.2-meter (7 foot) king cobra that escaped from its home in a Swedish zoo has returned back home by itself, bringing a happy ending to over a week-long disappearance saga.
Cobra missing for 6 days in Swedish zoo located, still free
October 28, 2022 GMTCOPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A venomous king cobra which escaped from its home in a Swedish zoo six days ago has been located inside the building where its terrarium is located but has not yet been recaptured, the park said Friday.
Florida teen captures 28 Burmese pythons, gets top prize
October 26, 2022 GMTMIAMI (AP) — A 19-year-old South Florida man captured 28 Burmese pythons during a 10-day competition that was created to increase awareness about the threats the invasive snakes pose to the state's ecology.
230 pythons taken from Florida Everglades in annual contest
October 21, 2022 GMTMIAMI (AP) — More than 230 pythons were removed from the Florida Everglades as part of an annual competition to eliminate the invasive species from the South Florida wetlands preserve.
Florida wildlife officials said Thursday that 1,000 hunters from 32 states and as far away as Canada and Latvia removed 231 Burmese pythons during the 10-day competition known as the Florida Python Challenge.
Man charged with smuggling pythons in his pants at US border
October 6, 2022 GMTALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A New York City man has been charged with smuggling three Burmese pythons in his pants at a U.S-Canadian border crossing.
Calvin Bautista, 36, is accused of bringing the hidden snakes on a bus that crossed into northern New York on July 15, 2018.
Respected snake researcher dies from rattlesnake bite
August 12, 2022 GMTFALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A respected snake researcher who had been making significant discoveries about the species since childhood has died after being bitten by a timber rattler.
Python hunt! 800 compete to remove Florida’s invasive snakes
August 5, 2022 GMTMore than 800 competitors will be trudging through the Florida Everglades for the next eight days, in search of invasive Burmese pythons that will bring in thousands of dollars in prize money.
Pet boa constrictor strangles owner; police investigate
July 25, 2022 GMTFOGELSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — A man's pet boa constrictor wrapped itself around his neck, sending him to a hospital, where he died several days later, authorities in Pennsylvania said.
Elliot Senseman, 27, died Sunday morning at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest, the Lehigh County coroner's office said.
Poisonous bite leads German police to farm with 110 snakes
June 26, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Police in Germany said Sunday they discovered more than 110 dangerous snakes on a farm after a woman who lived there sought medical treatment for a poisonous bite.
The 35-year-old woman drove to a hospital in Salzgitter, near Hannover, early Sunday and told doctors there that one of her rattlesnakes bit her finger.
Florida team hauls in 18-foot, 215-pound Burmese python
June 22, 2022 GMTNAPLES, Fla. (AP) — A team of biologists recently hauled in the heaviest Burmese python ever captured in Florida, officials said.
The female python weighed in at 215 pounds (98 kilograms), was nearly 18 feet long (5 meters) and had 122 developing eggs, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida said in a news release.
Burmese python hunt in Florida Everglades slated for August
June 16, 2022 GMTMIAMI (AP) — Flanked by a huge writhing snake, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday that the annual prize-winning hunt for invasive Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades will begin Aug. 5.
People must register to participate and complete an online training course for the event, which typically draws hundreds from across the country.
Sonic workers flee from large snake found behind fryer
May 29, 2022 GMTBRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Workers cooking burgers and tater tots in a Sonic fast-food kitchen fled after discovering an intruder hiding behind the deep fryer.
Brunswick police Lt. Matthew Wilson found employees of the Sonic drive-in huddled in the parking lot when he arrived to investigate last Saturday.
Indy 500 fans find comfort in milk, bricks, Snake Pit
May 28, 2022 GMTINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Wearing a green “ I Call In Sick for Carb Day ” T-shirt, Rick Leppert took a gulp of beer and studied a scene he didn’t quite recognize in his first trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway since before the pandemic.
Snake-killing day, something snake lovers wish would end
May 20, 2022 GMTLAKE PROVIDENCE, La. (AP) — If you've heard the saying, “The only good snake is a dead snake,” then a town in the northeast corner of Louisiana is the place to be on Saturday.
Lake Providence will revive a tradition dating to at least the 1960s called the snake rodeo.
4 now confirmed dead in Massachusetts apartment building
May 17, 2022 GMTWORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — The number of people who died in a fire at a Massachusetts apartment building last weekend has climbed to four with the discovery of two more bodies on Monday, fire officials said.
One-fifth of reptiles worldwide face risk of extinction
April 27, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Even the king cobra is “vulnerable.” More than 1 in 5 species of reptiles worldwide are threatened with extinction, according to a comprehensive new assessment of thousands of species published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Cops: Arizona man stuffed 183 animals in freezer, some alive
April 14, 2022 GMTGOLDEN VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona man faces animal cruelty charges after 183 dead dogs, rabbits, birds and other animals were found in a freezer, including some that were apparently frozen while alive, officials said.
Snake bite killed man who had over 100 snakes at home
April 14, 2022 GMTPOMFRET, Md. (AP) — A man found dead in his home with more than 100 snakes, including cobras and black mambas, died of a snake bite, officials in Maryland said.
A medical examiner's office told local news outlets Wednesday the victim died of “snake envenomation" and the death was accidental.
Rattlesnake roundups take 2 paths, drawing praise and scorn
March 11, 2022 GMTWOODSTOCK, Ga. (AP) — An annual rattlesnake roundup in south Georgia recently changed the format of this month’s event to celebrate living snakes without skinning and butchering them, earning plaudits from animal rights activists.
Border authorities find 52 reptiles hidden in man’s clothing
March 9, 2022 GMTSAN DIEGO (AP) — A man who tried to slither past U.S. border agents in California had 52 lizards and snakes hidden in his clothing, authorities said Tuesday.
The man was driving a truck when he arrived at the San Ysidro border crossing with Mexico on Feb.
Man gets prison for illegally shipping turtles and snakes
February 27, 2022 GMTVALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) — A Florida man who admitted that he illegally shipped turtles and venomous snakes from his home in south Georgia has been sentenced to serve nearly three years in prison.
Ashtyn Michael Rance, 35, of Miami pleaded guilty in November to one count of wildlife trafficking and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Hundreds of animals removed from Nebraska home
December 21, 2021 GMTPAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — Officials with the Nebraska Humane Society have removed hundreds of animals, including exotic birds, snakes and others, from a home amid concerns they were neglected.
KETV-TV reports that more than 250 animals were taken from the home in Papillion on Monday, and hundreds more were removed Tuesday morning.
Missouri woman convicted of killing snake breeder husband
December 10, 2021 GMTCOLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A woman shot and killed her husband at his snake-breeding business in Missouri, a jury decided Thursday.
Lynlee Renick was convicted in Boone County of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the June 2017 death of her husband, Ben Renick, who bred rare and exotic snakes at his business in New Florence.
Trial underway for wife in death of Missouri snake breeder
December 6, 2021 GMTCOLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri woman shot and killed her husband at his snake breeding business because she was the beneficiary of his $1 million life insurance policy, which would have helped her financially struggling spa business, a prosecutor said Monday.
Man admits illegally shipping turtles and venomous snakes
November 21, 2021 GMTVALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) — A Florida man has admitted that he illegally shipped turtles and venomous snakes from his home in south Georgia.
Ashtyn Michael Rance of Miami on Thursday pleaded guilty to one count of wildlife trafficking and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, federal prosecutors said in a news release.
Python hitches sailboat ride from Florida Keys to mainland
November 13, 2021 GMTMARCO ISLAND, Fla. (AP) — A python looking for a joyride snuck aboard a sailboat in the Florida Keys and ended up staying until the boat finished its nearly 100-mile voyage, police said.
The crew found the 7-foot (2.1-meter) snake in the boat's shower after docking Friday in Marco Island on southwest Florida's Gulf Coast after the trip from Indian Key, a distance of about 95 miles (155 kilometers) around the southern tip of the peninsula.
African snake found at suburban Chicago forest preserve
October 21, 2021 GMTWHEATON, Ill. (AP) — A snake native to Africa has been removed from a suburban Chicago nature preserve after a visitor found the reptile coiled beneath her car.
The ball python was removed Wednesday from the Herrick Lake Forest Preserve in Wheaton after a woman who had been walking at the preserve noticed a large snake under her car and called police.
More than 90 snakes found under Northern California home
October 16, 2021 GMTSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Al Wolf is used to clearing one or two snakes from under houses but recently was called by a woman who said she had seen rattlesnakes scurry under her Northern California house and was surprised to find more than 90 rattlesnakes getting ready to hibernate.
Alice Cooper talks tap dancing, snakes onstage and his diary
October 15, 2021 GMTLONDON (AP) — During the pandemic, shock rocker Alice Cooper replaced touring with tap dancing.
The 73-year-old rock icon went from touring with Queen and playing to crowds of 95,000 to an audience of zero.
Las Vegas police find dozens of boa constrictors in home
September 16, 2021 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas police found 30 boa constrictors in a home and then determined that nothing was amiss.
Investigators came across the snakes Tuesday during an unspecified law enforcement investigation and promptly called Clark County Animal Control, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Woman comes face-to-face with snake in Australia supermarket
August 18, 2021 GMTCANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Helaina Alati was browsing the spice aisle of an Australian supermarket when she came face-to-face with a huge snake.
The head of the 3-meter-long (10-foot-long) non-venomous diamond python emerged through a space in a shelf above the spice jars in the Sydney store.
North Carolina man accepts plea for venomous snake’s escape
August 7, 2021 GMTRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A snake collector whose escaped zebra cobra caused a frenzy for days this summer in a North Carolina neighborhood has pleaded guilty to a charge, agreeing in turn to pay restitution and give up his snakes.
Boa constrictor accidentally freed found month later in Utah
August 5, 2021 GMTTOOELE, Utah (AP) — A boa constrictor accidentally freed from its container in Utah has been found a month after it went missing.
The snake's owner contacted police Wednesday and said the 8-foot- (2.44 meters) long reptile was found near a deep freezer in his home, KSL TV reported Thursday.
Endangered snakes born at Omaha zoo
July 17, 2021 GMTOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Four endangered indigo snakes are the newest babies at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium, marking a first-time birth of the species at the zoo.
The Omaha World-Herald reports that the snakes made their appearance Wednesday and Thursday.
Don’t look up! Bangkok’s slitherers keep snake catchers busy
July 15, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Bangkok parkgoers looking for relief from renewed coronavirus restrictions got a slithering surprise Thursday when a python as long as two of the Thai capital’s ubiquitous motorbikes was spotted in one of the city's most popular green spaces.
Missing 12-foot python found in crawl space of shopping mall
July 8, 2021 GMTBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A 12-foot (3.6-meter) python that escaped from its enclosure inside Louisiana’s largest shopping mall has been found, authorities said Thursday.
The snake was recaptured in a ceiling crawl space early Thursday morning after two days of searching, WBRZ-TV reported.
North Carolina owner of venomous snakes facing charges
July 8, 2021 GMTRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man whose venomous snake escaped from his home and terrorized a neighborhood for several days is facing multiple misdemeanor charges, authorities said.
The Raleigh man is facing 40 charges in connection to his escaped zebra cobra and other venomous snakes kept in the basement of his parents' home, news outlets reported.
12-foot python escapes inside Louisiana’s largest mall
July 7, 2021 GMTBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Authorities say they’ve been searching for a 12-foot python that escaped from its enclosure inside Louisiana’s largest shopping mall.
Cara, a yellow and white Burmese python, slithered out of its enclosure at the Blue Zoo in the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge on Tuesday, news outlets reported.
Boa constrictor accidentally freed in Utah still missing
July 6, 2021 GMTTOOELE, Utah (AP) — A boa constrictor accidentally freed from its container last week has eluded authorities in Utah for more than three days.
Animal control officers were called to a home on Friday afternoon after contractors accidentally knocked over the 8-foot-long (2-meter-long) snake’s container, KSL TV reported Tuesday.
Man bitten by neighbor’s escaped python in toilet in Austria
July 5, 2021 GMTBERLIN (AP) — A man in Austria was bitten by a 1.6-meter (5 1/4-foot) python during an early-morning visit to the toilet at his home on Monday, police said.
The reptile, which apparently escaped from a neighbor's apartment and may have slithered through the drains, was cleaned and handed back to its owner.
Venomous snake captured in North Carolina capital
July 1, 2021 GMTRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A venomous snake has been captured two days after it was spotted on the loose in a neighborhood of North Carolina’s capital.
The Raleigh Police Department sent out a notice late Wednesday announcing that the zebra cobra was found and safely removed from a northwest Raleigh neighborhood.
Venomous snake on the loose in North Carolina capital
June 29, 2021 GMTRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Officials in North Carolina are warning people to be on the lookout for a venomous snake on the loose.
The Raleigh Police Department sent out a notice early Tuesday urging anyone who sees the missing zebra cobra to stay away and 911.
Police called to remove snake; turns out to be python
June 25, 2021 GMTPITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — When Pittsburg, Kansas, Police Officer Jesse Spencer was sent to a home to remove a snake from the front porch, he expected the typical garden snake.
And now, for something completely different: What he found was an 8-foot-long python.
Hunt is on for Burmese pythons, Florida natives’ arch-enemy
June 3, 2021 GMTMIAMI (AP) — Professional python hunters and amateurs alike have a chance to win prizes in Florida's annual hunt for the biggest snakes — the Burmese pythons that are ravaging the state's native species.
NC woman bit by snake, fell off ladder while trimming hedges
May 24, 2021 GMTMOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina woman is recovering from a fall off a ladder prompted by a surprise snake bite.
Heatherly Noble was trimming hedges outside the front door of her Mooresville home on May 15 when a non-venomous black racer emerged from the bush and bit her, news outlets reported.
Researchers release endangered snakes in Louisiana forest
May 3, 2021 GMTMEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Researchers with the Memphis Zoo have released 50 endangered Louisiana pine snakes into a national forest in an attempt to revive their population...
Man bitten while using barbecue tongs to remove rattlesnake
April 20, 2021 GMTCORONA, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California man is recovering after he was bitten by a rattlesnake when he tried to pick up the poisonous reptile using barbecue tongs, authorities said...
Sydney man finds snake in lettuce bought at supermarket
April 16, 2021 GMTCANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Alex White thought he was watching a huge worm writhing in plastic-wrapped lettuce he’d just brought home from a Sydney supermarket — until a snake tongue flicked...
San Diego Zoo employee bitten by venomous snake
April 13, 2021 GMTSAN DIEGO (AP) — A San Diego Zoo employee was hospitalized Monday after being bitten by a venomous snake, officials said...
Authorities capture illegal ball python, iguana on Oahu
February 21, 2021 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — The Hawaii Department of Agriculture has captured a ball python and an iguana in separate residential areas on Oahu, both of which are illegal to own in the state...
Florida cousins catch 16-foot python on family property
February 11, 2021 GMTZOLFO SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — Two Florida cousins recently captured a huge Burmese Python after spotting it slithering on their property in central Florida...
Whoa! Boa constrictor stuck in car dashboard freed unharmed
February 3, 2021 GMTALBEMARLE, N.C. (AP) — A pet boa constrictor that became stuck behind the dashboard of a car in North Carolina needed the help of some animal control officers to wriggle free...
52 pythons, 108 rodents seized in Brown County
January 29, 2021 GMTGREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Humane Society says it took in 160 snakes and rodents after authorities in Brown County seized them due to an ordinance violation...
No snake soup for Hong Kong’s young snake catcher
January 2, 2021 GMTHONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong is home to a variety of snakes — from the venomous king cobra to larger species such as the Burmese python...
Florida’s new python-sniffing dogs have 1st success
December 16, 2020 GMTTALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Truman, the python-sniffing black Labrador retriever, recently tracked down his first snake in a new program Florida is using to eradicate the invasive species...