At Wildman’s Pizza, just off the roundabout in Everglades City, visitors come for the pizza, the unique – some might call bizarre – decor and giftshop, and for a chance to meet Wildman himself – Dusty Crum.
Crum, originally from Sarasota, is famous for hunting the invasive Burmese python in the wilds of the Everglades, something he has been doing for 15 years.
Wildman’s is decorated with skins of snakes Crum has caught – from the largest snake he caught to seat covers for barstools. There are alligator skulls, stuffed snakes, a racoon family and a bobcat. And there are walls of stories about python hunting and the land where it’s done.
“This is a agricultural product, you know, it’s a, it’s a product of Florida,” Crum said as he held out a recently tanned python hide – soft and supple. “This is Florida, the gators and the pythons is Florida. … We’re trying to create sustainable leather goods. This isn’t farm raised.”
Wildman’s merch shop is filled with unique finds
A side room is framed by reclaimed cypress railroad ties and dock boards Crum found – he loves using found things for projects such as the glass case that holds some of his snakeskin wares and the walls that once served as roofs of the mobile homes that housed the Marco Island Academy before its permanent home was built.
Inside the room are tanned hides of pythons hanging from the ceiling and almost to the floor.
Shelves are covered with items made from python skins.
There are purses, flip flops, belts, belt buckles, hats, earrings, necklaces, knife handles, wrist cuffs, dog collars and more.
Crum himself is casual and barefoot; his sea green eyes smile as he talks about something he loves doing. He beams showing pictures of the 1969 Charger he is refinishing and outfitting inside with python skin seats.
Who makes everything he sells?
Different manufacturers, Crum said, but all in the U.S.
“This is a Florida product, it’s Florida, Florida, Florida, you know, all day long,” he said, and Crum wants to create sustainable goods.
“I use every piece of the snake, the skin, the fat, the blood, the bones, the meat. I’ve been doing this for 15 years and utilizing what the earth, what God provides me,” Crum said.
“It’s helping save the Everglades,” he said. “By purchasing a Python wallet, or a python belt, or boots, or whatever, you’re saving native animals’ lives, because every snake removed is one less that’s eating native wildlife, that’s the bottom line.”
Florida Python Challenge starts July 10
Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia and were first reported in the Everglades system in the 1990s. Since then, they have established themselves as a permanent feature south of Lake Okeechobee. They’ve wreaked havoc on local wildlife, and scientists say most of the fur-bearing animals in the historic Everglades are gone.
To combat the population, a python hunt has been managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the South Florida Water Management District in south Florida for the past decade.
It’s the only official Burmese python hunt in the world. Called the Florida Python Challenge, this year’s hunt opens July 10.
Crum said Wildman’s is the “official unofficial headquarters” for the hunt. He is hoping hunters will stop in to eat and share their stories.
Crum works for the South Florida Water Management District as a state-contracted bounty hunter.
Can you get python on your pizza at Wildman’s?
No.
Crum’s brother, Josh, who recently moved to Everglades City, said Dusty had the meat tested to see if it was possible to add it to pizzas but it’s too high mercury.
“Everyone asks,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Marco Eagle: Wildman’s Pizza in Everglades City serves slices, snakeskins
Reporting by J. Kyle Foster, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Marco Eagle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By J. Kyle Foster, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
