Python hunt authorized in Big Cypress

WASHINGTON, July 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. Interior Department has authorized a hunt for invasive Burmese pythons in the Big Cypress National Wildlife Refuge in South Florida.

Seasonal hunting is already allowed in the preserve. The program Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Thursday includes funding and research on how to track pythons, The Miami Herald reported.

The Burmese python, one of the world's biggest snakes, can grow to be more than 20 feet long, big enough to take on the American crocodile, the top predator in the Everglades. The South Florida pythons, descendants of pets released by their owners when they grew too big, are believed to number in the thousands.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has called for a python hunt in the Everglades National Park, and Florida has announced a state program to hunt the snakes on state-owned land.

In spite of their size, Burmese pythons are good at staying undercover, and experts say even the most aggressive hunting is unlikely to eradicate them.

''There is no one silver bullet,'' said Paul Souza, a field supervisor with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.