It's True    
Elvis Is Alive      
     Part 1 of 3

   Not that Elvis. This Elvis is a sentinel snake, bearing a transmitter that leads hunters to other pythons in the Everglades.

   While agents try to contain and control the invasive serpents, eradication is out of the question. Elvis has led them to 17 other pythons since 2013, and has had his transmitter battery replaced several times. He never learns.

   Over three days, we invite you to read what scientists are learning about Elvis and associates, even if you're squeamish about snakes. We promise not to include photos, and half-promise not to blog about pythons ever again. 

   Roadkill used to be common in the vast Everglades - rabbits, opossums and other small animals. No more. Burmese pythons have eliminated them. 

   Pet trade dealers imported snakes by the "tens of thousands," it is said, until the state outlawed the practice, way too late. Owners, and maybe dealers, released snakes into the wild when they became too large. Pythons went forth and multiplied.

   My Uncle Bill was the first park naturalist at the Everglades, beginning in 1947. He died in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, his last national park, in 1999, but I don't doubt that he knew about the pythons and was disgusted. Not that he hated snakes. 

   God created pythons with many advantages. He had his reasons. (?)

Tomorrow: Catch me if you can 

        Jimmy