The Florida Everglades have been known for the large diversity in the creatures and plant life that inhabit its two million acre wetlands. It’s home to over 350 different species of birds, both Crocodiles and Alligators, 27 different species of snakes, and some of the rarest endangered animals such as the Florida Panther with only about 80 still alive.
Plenty of different invasive species live in the Florida everglades now with the most infamous being the burmese python. The Burmese python which were once native to the jungles of southeast Asia have now become one of the Everglades biggest problems. The burmese python with its gentile disposition is the snake of choice for pet owners but can grow over 20 feet long and can quickly become out of hand for homeowners. Due to this, many people release the snake into the wild where they have rapidly spread and have become a widespread problem.
Since 2000, there has been a rather large decline in mammals found in the everglades. Raccoons and opossum have dropped by nearly 99%, Bobcats by 85% and Rabbits and foxes have seem to disappeared completely. The burmese pythons are great examples of an invasive species. They adapt very well to different habitats and can reproduce very quickly. The burmese python isn’t the only invasive species in the everglades though.
Another dangerous invasive species is the Clarias Batrachas or the walking catfish. They can survive for days out of water as well as are able to survive in hypoxic water or water that has very low oxygen levels by breathing air. They are aggressive feeders and have been recorded as eating anything during the dry season, even depleting whole fish supplies.
-Daniel Moreno
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/burmese-python/
You, Me, & Biodiversity 
I’m definitely not a fish expert so it always surprises me to hear about the weird things some fish can do, like the Walking Catfish. Talk about adapting to ones environment, it’s a genius survival technique.
The Burmese python is a huge problem and you can see it on the nightly news and all over the internet. They are a nice pet, but they get out of hand. Florida is a breeding ground for illegal pets. you can go to alot of local pet stores and see some real greasy stuff going on in these stores.
Pj disalvo
Wow, the walking catfish is something that I have never heard of before. I think that fish who have the ability to come out f the water are freaky. Fish freak me out in the first place anyways. :] But, I think that those are the ones that are most dangerous to areas surrounding the water. Great information.
I’ve never heard of a walking catfish, that’s terrifying. If I saw some catfish just waddling on over to me through some brush, then I’m bolting. That’s just not gonna fly. At all. But its definitely sad that the whole Burmese python problem could of been solved if people hadn’t brought them over. Due to our terrible management as a species this could of been solved.
It baffles me that because of these pythons the amount of bobcats has dropped by 85% and rabbits and foxes have seem to disappeared completely. Disappear completely? That is insane! Foxes are fast, agile creatures surely they can outrun a snake, and same goes for bobcats. I find it hard to believe that a python could outwit such creatures so much as to lower their population percentages so drastically.
-Spencer Curtis
It’s crazy to think that a python could be taken down these bobcats! Another thing I just found out today was that those weird looking ducks that hang around the bayou apartments here are an invasive species too! Apparently they are a huge pest and destroy the nesting grounds of other ducks.
-Megan Boyd