Nearly 300 Burmese pythons were removed during a record-setting Florida Python Challenge this year, state wildlife officials said.
The 10-day competition that ran from July 11-20 resulted in a record 294 invasive pythons being removed, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said Wednesday.
Just 195 pythons were caught during last year’s challenge.
A total of 934 participants from 30 states and Canada were involved in this year’s hunt which included eight official locations including Everglades National Park.
The winner of the $10,000 ultimate grand prize this year was Taylor Stanberry, who removed a whopping 60 pythons.
Stanberry promotes herself as a “venomous keeper” and “venomous relocator” from Naples on her Instagram page.
The rest of the approximate $15,000 in prizes was divided among competitors in the contest’s three categories: novice, professional and military.
Donna Kalil, who last year caught 19 pythons in the professional category, captured 56 this year.
The most pythons caught by a novice were 14 by Krista Hoekstra, while John Southworth led the military category with 5.
The longest python caught this year was 15 feet, 11 inches by a novice, Michael Marousky. The longest caught in the military category was 11 feet, 2 inches by Jonathan Miller, while the longest caught by a professional was 9 feet, 8 inches by Kennith Chamberland.
Burmese pythons are one of the state’s most notorious invasive species, and the FWC has implemented several efforts to remove the large nonvenomous constrictors from our ecosystem — primarily by humanely killing them.
To incentivize their removal, Florida hosts the annual python challenges.
More than 23,500 pythons were removed from natural areas in the state of Florida between 2000 and April 2025, according to the FWC.
The amount of pythons captured and removed increased drastically once the paid challenge was launched in 2017.
“The record number of invasive pythons removed from the Everglades during this year’s competition is a big win for native wildlife. With over 1,400 pythons removed during all Florida Python Challenge events to date and over 16,000 pythons removed by FWC and South Florida Water Management District contractors since 2017, collective efforts are the key to continue addressing the threats Burmese pythons pose to Florida’s native wildlife and ecosystems,” FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto said in a statement Wednesday.
