In just over a month, novice and professional python hunters will converge on the Everglades for the annual Florida Python Challenge.
Dates for the 10-day event to remove invasive Burmese pythons from the Everglades were announced May 19 and registration is open. The 2026 Florida Python Challenge is scheduled for July 10 to July 19.
Participants can win money prizes in several categories, including a $10,000 Ultimate Grand Prize for the most pythons removed.
The Burmese python may be the most destructive foreign animal in the park’s history, putting a stranglehold on Florida’s wildlife and contributing to the decline of small mammals.
The massive snakes can grow to more than 18 feet and weigh more than 200 pounds.
Here’s what to know about the Florida Python Challenge for 2026 and the biggest pythons caught in Florida:
Florida Python Challenge start 2026 dates
The 2026 Florida Python Challenge starts at 12:01 a.m. July 10 and ends at 5 p.m. July 19.
What prizes can hunters win in the Florida Python Challenge?
$25,000 in prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the 2026 Florida Python Challenge.
Can you shoot pythons during the Florida python hunt?
There is no established firearm season during the time of the event. The use of firearms during the competition is prohibited.
What do they do with pythons caught in Florida?
Burmese pythons captured in Florida must be humanely killed. While they are not protected in Florida, anti-cruelty law still applies.
Where in Florida are Burmese pythons? How far north do they go?
The invasive snakes are distributed across more than a thousand square miles in the Everglades and southern Florida. Burmese pythons have been found across the state and are slithering north. They may even reach Georgia.
See record 19-foot Burmese python, caught in Southwest Florida
A group of python hunters caught the longest Burmese python ever measured on July 10, 2023, in the Big Cypress National Preserve in eastern Collier County.
The monster snake was 19 feet long.
A look at 18-foot pythons caught in South Florida, Everglades
The previous record was held by python hunters Ryan Ausburn and Kevin Pavlidis who captured a python measuring a whopping 18-feet 9-inches in 2020.
In 2013, Jason Leon captured a then-record 18-foot python in southeastern Miami-Dade County. The massive snake weighed 128 pounds.
Licensed python hunter Mike Kimmel, alone on a spoil island in the Florida Everglades, caught a 17-foot python in 2020.
See the heaviest python caught in Florida. It weighed 215 pounds
Conservancy of Southwest Florida biologists caught the heaviest Burmese python ever recorded in the Florida Everglades in 2022. The colossal female python weighed an eye-popping 215 pounds and was nearly 18 feet long.
A 198-pound Burmese python was captured in November 2023 in the Big Cypress Preserve, making it the second-heaviest ever caught in the Sunshine State. The massive snake was 17 feet, 2 inches long.
Kim Luciani is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s Audience team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://naplesnews.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Florida Python Challenge coming up. Look back at biggest snakes caught
Reporting by Kim Luciani and Mark H. Bickel, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
