Researchers from the University of Florida have discovered that pythons possess good navigational skills that allow them to find their way home in the wild.
The confirmation of the python's navigational skills came as bad news to wildlife authorities in Florida who are trying to decrease the snake's number in the wetlands.
The researchers, led by Frank Mazzotti of the University of Florida, were trying to find out what the pythons eat in order to devise a plan in reducing their population. In 2006 and 2007, they were able to capture 12 pythons from the Everglades National Park. These pythons received radio transmitters before they were released again into the wild.
Six of the snakes were released in regions which are 13 to 22 miles away from where they were originally found. The researchers were astounded to see that these snakes found their way home and stayed there for months even during varying temperatures. According to the researchers, the snakes spent three to nine months travelling back to their original homes.
The findings of the study failed to show how snakes find and follow their routes. A theory claims that they might be using their sense of smell; another theory is that they might be guided by some magnetic field. If the researchers will find out how snakes use their navigational skills, it will be easier for them to look for the snakes in the wild.
"I can't say it's going to provide us with any magical management solutions. It's really neat that the pythons do this," Mazzotti told the Associated Press.
Shannon Pittman, faculty from the University of Missouri-Columbia and the study's lead author, explained that there is still much to be discovered about the python's navigational abilities. The team also expects the snake to establish their territories in the areas where they were released.
Currently, the pythons residing in South Florida are becoming threats to the natural ecosystem, with their numbers estimated to be 100,000 or more. Efforts are being done to curb the python's population but none of these has been successful yet.
This study was published in the March 19 issue of the Biology Letters.
