Tampa snake hunter wins a huge prize from a Florida Python Challenge contest
@Deepizzaguy (124347)
Lake Charles, Louisiana
August 16, 2026 3:31pm CST
Tampa Florida resident Tom Rahill won a huge prize of $10,000 dollars after he removed 96 pythons from the Everglades National Park.
The Florida Fish Wildlife and Conservation Commission (FWC) held an event that lasted 10 days which attracted 907 participants from 30 states and overseas to attract public awareness and encourage hands on removal efforts of Burmese pythons who are a menace to the ecosystem in the park.
280 Burmese pythons were removed from the park by the contestants. I do not know about you but it takes a person who has nerves of steel to remove Burmese pythons from a body of water. You can count me out.
Link is clickorlando.com/news/local/202...
11 people like this
11 responses
@kareng (81923)
• United States
17 Aug
@Deepizzaguy I think those guys have warped minds!
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (124347)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
17 Aug
@kareng I know what you mean.
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (124347)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
16 Aug
Neither would I accept that challenge,
4 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (124347)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
18 Aug
You are right raising awareness is needed.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (211616)
• United States
16 Aug
That would be rough getting those snakes.
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (124347)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
16 Aug
It is a very hard job handling pythons.
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (124347)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
17 Aug
Neither would I even get close to a snake myself.
@Deepizzaguy (124347)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
20h
Neither would I since I am scared of snakes.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (99847)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
16 Aug
I could not and would not approach such snakes, Certainly deserved the money,
2 people like this
@JudyEv (386467)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Aug
That's amazing. 280 is a LOT of pythons to remove. I guess there is just as many that haven't been caught.
@Deepizzaguy (124347)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
17 Aug
I do not know about handling snakes myself. It does take a special kind of skill to handle snakes.
1 person likes this
@AliCanary (4879)
•
16h
Yep, Burmese pythons are pretty big. They aren't particularly aggressive to people (the ones in the Everglades probably all came from released pets), but any animal who is an invasive species can wreck an ecosystem.
1 person likes this
