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Floridians might start to see a slippery new item on their menus – Burmese pythons. The invasive species are so out of control in the state that the government can begin to encourage the new meal as a way to help keep the numbers of snakes under control, as long as they aren’t filled with toxic mercury.
Prior to the recommendation, however, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) partnered with the Florida Department of Health to find out whether the Mercury the levels in the pythons are safe to consume.
If so, python hunter Donna Kalil is already ahead of the game. She hunts pythons for the South Florida Water Management District and estimates that she has eaten a dozen pythons at the time. over the past three years or so, depending on the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“It’s wonderful tasting meat,” Kalil told The Sentinel. She describes it as an “acquired thought process” rather than an “acquired taste”.
Related: 7 shocking snake stories
The python problem
Burmese pythons established themselves in the mid-1990s in Everglades National Park in South Florida, likely as released or escaped pets, and then became invasive, according to the FWC. A species becomes invasive when it finds itself somewhere it shouldn’t, because of humans, and upsets the balance of its new ecosystem, which has not evolved to cope with alien invaders, Previously reported Live Science.
Recent data suggests that the python population is increasing north and west in the Sunshine State. the longest Burmese python captured in Florida was over 5.4 meters long. In general, they average between 6 and 9 feet (1.8 and 2.7 m). Due to their large size, snakes have few predators and will consume a variety of animals, including mammals, birds, and even alligators. Some of these prey are threatened or endangered native species, according to the FWC.
It is not uncommon for an invasive or simply annoying species to be consumed as a means of controlling its populations. In Florida, non-natives lion fish and wild boar can be eaten for example. Even iguanas have been dubbed the “chicken of the trees,” with the University of Florida publication recipe ideas. So what’s different about pythons?
Mercury accumulates
Python meat can be particularly vulnerable to mercury contamination, which poses a threat to human health.
Mercury is a natural element in the earth’s crust, but human activities, such as the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, have resulted in the release of high levels of mercury into the atmosphere. It is then brought back to Earth by the rain. Mercury pollution in the Everglades is particularly high as water evaporating from its lush vegetation causes giant mercury-absorbing rain clouds to hover over the area for most of the year. , Previously reported Live Science.
When mercury enters our freshwater and saltwater systems, certain microorganisms can capture it and convert it to methylmercury. This form builds up in the food chain when an infected animal is eaten by another. For a giant snake, traversing swamps infested with mercury and eating almost anything that moves, the risk of contamination is very real.
Some of the pythons found in the Everglades have already recorded “remarkably high levels of mercury,” more than double what the state of Florida considers safe for edible fish, Previously reported Live Science. If consumed by humans, mercury poisoning can cause a variety of conditions, including neurological and chromosomal problems and birth defects.
In the new research, scientists will measure levels of mercury in the tissues of captured pythons. The aim of the study is to develop and share “consumer advisories for Burmese pythons in South Florida to better educate the public,” said the spokesperson for the FWC wildlife commission. , Susan Neel. CNN.
If you’re worried about Kalil, who eats python several times a week, you don’t need to be. Her daughter bought her a mercury test kit to confirm that the snakes she eats are healthy, according to the Sentinel.
Originally posted on Live Science.
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