This Issue:

Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

The Hunt for Pythons

Spanish Translation

Ron Bergeron, Shawn Heflick and Greg Graziani are on the lookout for pythons. The large snakes are native to Asia. But there may be as many as 150,000 pythons in Florida's Everglades National Park. (See the map on page 4.)

The men are hunting the snakes. They are worried that pythons will wipe out, or kill, native animals.

The snakes are "challenging the top of the food chain out here," says Bergeron. "It's not natural." He works for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC). This summer, Florida allowed python hunting in the Everglades and other parks.

Don't Let It Loose!

Burmese pythons are popular pets. But they can be difficult pets. They grow fast. They eat a lot. An adult Burmese python can be more than 20 feet long.

Many python owners cannot care for their big pets. They dump them in the wild.

The Perfect Home

The Everglades are a perfect habitat for pythons. The weather is warm. There are wide-open spaces. The number of pythons in the Everglades is growing.

Pythons are the biggest hunters in the Everglades. They eat mammals, birds and other reptiles.

The FWC says it wants to catch pythons. As of August 21, 14 Burmese pythons had been caught. Now, the hunters are being hunted.

Next: THINK!