Tracking Pythons: The Quest to Catch an Invasive Predator and Save an Ecosystem

Tracking Pythons: The Quest to Catch an Invasive Predator and Save an Ecosystem — page 3
Those antennas pick up signals from transmitters inside the snakes on the ground Yesterday Argo’s signal told them he was hiding out behind this nursery somewhere Today we’ve come to find him It’s just after noon on a Tuesday in early April 2018 The sun is high in the sky and light wind rustles the tall grass Vines and roots grab at our hiking boots as we push through weeds so thick we can’t see the ground much less a snake Beep beep beep The signal was quiet at first but it’s getting louder with every step If we turn the wrong way the sound will grow quieter It’s like the hot and cold game you play when someone has hidden something and gives clues as the other person searches You’re cold cold getting warmer you’re hot now Hot In this case the louder the beep the closer researchers are to their target Bartoszek brushes aside grass that’s taller than he is and we push deeper into the weeds He holds the receiver’s antenna high over his head and warns the rest of us to watch our step in the tangled vines When the beeping gets even louder Bartoszek stops He turns in a slow circle I think I’m kind of standing on him He’s somewhere right in here We all look down at our feet It’s a strange feeling to know that an 11-foot 3 4 m python may be lurking just inches from where we stand Perhaps right under our boots hidden in the thick mat of vines that covers everything in sight 6 Beep beep beep Bartoszek turns the antenna once more The sound gets louder near a particular clump of vegetation Let’s see if we can get a visual he says Bartoszek hacks at the vines with a machete while fellow researcher Ian Easterling tries to push through the brush from the other side The beeping continues loud and clear They’ve found their snake They just can’t see him They continue to hack at the vines but Argo stays hidden for now The scientists can’t afford to spend any more time here They have a list of other pythons to find and check in on today Conservancy intern Monica Lasky jots down Argo’s Researchers push through the brush as they track a radio-tagged Burmese python