Park After Dark

BY JILL ZIMA BORSKI

Special to the Free Press HOMESTEAD — As we stopped just outside the visitors center at 8 p.m. at Everglades National Park, crickets chirped and pig frogs snorted. Geckos on the restroom walls grabbed our attention for a short time.

But, with a spotlight and flashlights in hand, we were looking for larger creatures — snakes, specifically — as hunting instincts focused on the search and environmental concern led us to take only pictures.

Being in the park after dark is a fun and unusual way to spend an evening. It’s like being in a boat and fishing, in the hopes of being rewarded for our efforts, but with different quarry in mind.

Some of the same supplies are necessary — bug repellent, light source, food and drink, and a first aid kit. If kids are along, pillows and blankets help them sleep in relative comfort as the search for critters continues way past normal bed times.

In June, Pete Frezza, research coordinator for the Audubon Society based at mile marker 89, went “snaking” with a doctoral candidate and herpetologist in the park. They found four Burmese pythons in two nights ranging from 5 to 11 feet.

“The 11-footer weighed 100 pounds,” said Frezza. “Even though it was non-poisonous, it was aggressive. If a person were to grab its tail, it takes a bit of time for it to swing around and try to bite.”

He left the grabbing part to his friend, the herpetologist, Kevin Messenger.

But, within a species, snake personalities apparently differ. Frezza picked up a calm 6-footer.

Now, a couple months later, Frezza and Messenger led a group from the Keys on a nighttime search in the Everglades for snakes. Most commonly found in this area are poisonous water moccasins, garter, ribbon, corn and Florida water snakes as well as nonnative Burmese pythons, most of which are former pets — or their progeny — that were illegally released into the park.

The snakes move around at night, hunting and eating, which is why venturing into the park after dark is recommended for the adventurous.

Other possible species we might spot included owls and Florida panthers. Two talkative Crocodile Dundee types we ran across at the Royal Palm Nature Center had seen two panthers in the past couple of weeks by staying out on the prowl virtually all night.

Hopeful, excited and expectant, we drove down the quiet park’s 40- mile-long main road, staying in the center when there were no other vehicles. Our bright headlights revealed both edges of the concrete surface, and we kept our eyes peeled for anything that moved. We traveled slowly — at about 20 mph — well under the park’s posted speed limit.

“Is this Mexico?” our 4-yearold companion asked. No, came the reply. 

Going over the park border was going to have to suffice for this snaking adventure.

JILL ZIMA BORSKI/Contributed A snake enthusiast found this 5-foot python at Everglades National Park. Because the snake is a non-native species, he is not breaking park rules by handling it.

At 8:55 p.m., with a sudden stomp on the brakes, we spotted our first snake in the middle of the road and got out of the car for a good look. It’s an 18-inch Peninsula ribbon snake.

“It’s the most common of Florida’s ribbon snakes,” Frezza said. Forty- five minutes later, we spy a 25-inch juvenile python. We take photographs and admire its beauty. We also discussed invasive species, and the problems they create.

“They eat everything, even bobcat and deer as shown by dissection,” 

Frezza said of the southeast Asian reptile. “They have replaced the constrictors niche [in our ecosystem], such as black racers, king, corn and rat snakes, and especially yellow rat snakes. Even rattlesnakes are being displaced by them.”

Burmese pythons reach up to 16-feet in length in South Florida, which led us to speculate just how young our 25-inch specimen is, as it slithered away from the road into the grass. Excitement with our find is tempered by concern for our native species.

“A newborn python is 20 to 24 inches,” according to Messenger, who lives in South Carolina. “Right off the bat, they compete with native snakes for food.”

Because snakes are nocturnal and like low-light conditions, they prefer to hunt when there is no moon. “Snakers” can improve their chances of spotting a reptile by visiting the park on nights with a late rising moon.

“Three days after a full moon is ideal, when the moon doesn’t come out until about 10 p.m. and a pitch black sky lasts from three to four hours,” said Frezza. “You’re seeking concentrated snake viewing hours to maximize results.”

Another tactic is to seek out the predators of snakes on nights with a bright moon.

“During the full moon [in July], we drove up on an owl perched on top of a cottonmouth,” Messenger said. “We also saw an owl carrying away a corn snake.”

Snakes generally don’t move as well during or after a hard rain; so, as with fishing, you have to take advantage of the best conditions to maximize your chances of exciting finds.

At 10:55 p.m., we came upon a truck stopped in the road with doors flung open. We spy about six people with one holding a live 5-foot python. They may be planning to bring it to the park’s wildlife biologist, Skip Snow, Messenger said.

Messenger cautions interested adventurers to properly identify species before touching one.

“They need to be careful that they aren’t confusing water snakes with cottonmouths, also known as water moccasins, which are venomous, for example,” he said.

A better recommendation is to look at but not handle native species, since doing so is prohibited in the park.

One thing stands out in speaking with the experts in the field: the odds of seeing a non-native species are better than a native species.

“Pythons are more likely to be spotted than native constrictors,” 

Messenger said. “Cuban tree frogs, an invasive, are all over the road. Kane toads, an invasive, can kill any medium-sized mammal, such as dogs, that may try to eat them. Any park restroom with lights has Mediterranean geckos all over the place — again, an invasive species.”

Messenger’s insight into these exotics conveys the tremendous challenge our native species face.

“Mediterranean geckos don’t need a mate. They’re all female, and they clone themselves and lay eggs. All you need is one [to reproduce],” he said.

Afterward, during a stop at the Florida City McDonald’s, the herpetologist spots three Kane toads and six curly-tailed lizards, native to South America, in the parking lot.

The conclusion of our adventurous hunt for critters takes a serious tone. Awareness of threats to our natural resources is a side benefit to the thrill of the chase.

If you go:

- There are no gas stations in Everglades National Park, so prospective wildlife viewers want to have a full gas tank before venturing long distances.

- The Robert Is Here market, which you pass on your way to the park, is closed at dark, so don’t rely on their great fare to fill your cooler or belly.

- From September through November, pygmy rattlesnakes, which are venomous, are likely to be spotted.