Floridians might see a new slippery item on their menus – Burmese pythons. The invasive species has gotten so out of control in the state that the government could be encouraging the new meal as a way to control snake numbers, as long as they aren’t filled with poisonous mercury.
Before the recommendation was made, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) worked with the Florida Department of Health to find out if the mercury levels in pythons are safe to consume.
If so, python hunter Donna Aldo is already ahead of the game. She hunts pythons for the South Florida Water Management District and estimates that she ate a dozen pythons in the past three years, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“It’s a great tasting meat,” Aldo told the Sentinel. She describes it more as an ‘acquired thought process’ than as an ‘acquired taste’.
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The Python Problem
Burmese pythons were established in the Everglades National Park, South Florida, in the mid-1990s, likely as released or escaped pets and then became invasive, according to the FWC. A species becomes invasive when it ends up where it shouldn’t, because of humans, and disrupts the balance of its new ecosystem, which has not evolved to cope with alien invaders, Live Science previously reported.
Recent data suggests that the python population is expanding north and west within the Sunshine State. The longest Burmese python captured in Florida was over 18 feet (5.4 meters) long. Typically they average between 6 and 9 feet (1.8 and 2.7 m). Due to their large size, the snakes have few predators and will devour a variety of animals including mammals, birds, and even alligators. Some of these prey are endangered or endangered native species, according to the FWC.
It is not unheard of for an invasive or just plain nasty species to be eaten as a means of controlling their populations. In Florida, the non-native lionfish and for example wild boars. Even iguanas are called the “chicken of the trees,” as published by the University of Florida recipe ideas. So what’s different about pythons?
Mercury accumulates
Python meat can be particularly vulnerable to mercury contamination, which is a threat to human health.
Mercury is a naturally occurring element in the Earth’s crust, but human activities, such as mining and the burning of fossil fuels, have resulted in the release of high levels of mercury into the atmosphere. It is then carried back to the earth by rain. Mercury pollution in the Everglades is especially high because the evaporation of water from the lush vegetation leads to the formation of giant mercury-absorbing rain clouds that hover over the area for most of the year. Live Science previously reported.
When mercury enters our freshwater and marine water systems, certain microorganisms can absorb it and convert it into methylmercury. This form builds up in the food chain when one infected animal is eaten by another. For a giant snake sailing through mercury-contaminated swamps and eating almost anything that moves, the risk of contamination is very real.
Some of the pythons found in the Everglades have previously recorded “remarkably high levels of mercury,” more than double what the state of Florida considers safe for edible fish. Live Science previously reported. 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 mercury levels in tissue from trapped pythons. The purpose of the study is to develop and share “consumption advice for Burmese pythons in South Florida to better educate the public,” said Susan Neel, spokeswoman for the FWC wildlife committee. CNN.
If you’re worried about Aldo eating python several times a week, don’t be. Her daughter bought her a mercury test kit to confirm that the snakes she eats are safe, the Sentinel said.
Originally published on Live Science.