Grand prize winner of 2024 Florida Python Challenge announced

More than 850 people participated in the 2024 Python Challenge, a 10-day hunt aimed at raising awareness of destruction caused by the invasive species in the fragile Florida Everglades.

But there could be just one winner of the $10,000 grand prize, and that was Ronald Kiger of Marion County, who brought in 20 Burmese pythons during the contest.

Kiger's triumph was announced at Tuesday's Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meeting in Duck Key.

"I just want to say thanks to my family for putting up with 10 days of camping in the swamp with the heat and the bugs," Kiger said at the meeting. "We enjoy getting out there and doing it and helping the state out."

Kiger was the runner-up in the 2023 Python Challenge.

This year’s Python Challenge began at 12:01 am Friday and ended at 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18.

In total, 857 participants competed in the challenge from 33 states and Canada. They removed 195 pythons.

Participants hunted in designated areas that stretch from western Palm Beach County to the Tamiami Trail in the Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area. Other management areas included in the Python Challenge are Holey Land, Rotenberger and Southern Glades.

Veteran python hunter Donna Kalil, who is contracted with the South Florida Water Management District, was optimistic this year that her tally of 19 snakes would win the grand prize.

Instead, she took home $2,500 for bringing in the most snakes in the professional category after Kiger.

Kalil has been participating in the contests since 2013, but many years she spends as much time hunting as she does chatting with with fellow hunters and helping novices. This year she was more focused, she said.

"I went out every night and I actually tried to win it this time," Kalil said. "It's a chess game, not checkers. You really have to plan your moves. It's a chess game, and then it's like whack-a-mole."

Kalil's longest snake this year was 12 feet, 1 inch. She said she typically had two volunteers with her each night, including a friend from Canada.

"It was a good challenge," she said. "You get tired, it's a push for sure."

More: Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge goes on offense to fight invasive Burmese python spread

Other 2024 winners in the professional category include Marcos Rodriguez, who won $1,500 for most pythons runner up, and Quentin Archie for longest python at 8 feet, 11 inches. Winners can only win in one category so Kalil's 12-footer couldn't be counted twice.

In the novice category, Thomas Hobbs won $2,500 for the most pythons at 16. Donald Straughan was runner-up with seven pythons, earning him $1,500. Dennis Krum won $1,000 for the longest python in the novice category with a snake measuring 9 feet, 11 inches.

Active duty and military veteran winners include Jeff Lince, who won $2,500 for bringing in the most pythons at five. Most pythons runner up in the military category was David Wagner with three snakes. Antonio Ramos won $1,000 for the longest python in the military category with a snake that measured 9 feet, 7 inches.

Hunter Bayo Hernandez, who is also contracted with the water management district, didn't have as much luck as Kalil. He brought in six snakes. The longest one measuring 9 feet.

"It was a tough, tough challenge this year," Hernandez said. "We just didn't come out with a monster, or a big quantity."

What are the prizes for the 2024 Florida Python Challenge?

The $10,000 grand prize is awarded to the participant who removes the most snakes as part of the competition. There are also three competition categories including professional, novice and military. Each category includes a $2,500 price for most pythons caught, $1,500 for the second-highest number of pythons caught and $1,000 for the longest python.

More: Florida python hunter recounts bloody battle: “She got me, son”

Participants may only win one prize, so if someone wins two, the person will be awarded the prize of the highest value and the next qualifying hunter will win the remaining prize.

Why hunt Burmese pythons?

Florida earnestly began hunting pythons in about 2012. It was the first year of the challenge and the same year a study in Everglades National Park suggested pythons were responsible for a decline of 85% to 100% of the population of medium-sized furry animals, such as raccoons and rabbits.

The Burmese python invasion started with releases — intentional or not — that allowed them to gain a foothold in the park by the mid-1980s, according to the 2021 Florida Python Control plan. By 2000, multiple generations of pythons were living in the park, which is noted in a more than 100-page 2023 report that summarized decades of python research.

More: Snake hunters catch 95% of pythons they see. Help sought to kill the ones that are hiding

How many pythons have been killed in Florida by hunters?

In 2017, the South Florida Water Management District started hiring python hunters. They are paid an hourly wage and can earn bonuses based on snake length. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also began a paid hunter program. Both organizations now have 50 hunters each.

More than 14,500 pythons have been removed since the FWC and the district teamed up to combat this invasive species, according to a statement this week from the district. The most pythons removed in a single year was 2,629 in 2020.

During the 2023 Python Challenge, 209 snakes were removed. The $10,000 winner that year killed 20 snakes.

Are Burmese pythons migrating north?

There is some evidence to suggest that pythons may be able to survive as far north as Georgia if specific conditions are met. Warming temperatures because of climate change and snakes evolving to be more cold-tolerant could help them expand their territory north.

More: Python challenge: Why state recommends not eating Florida pythons

According to a 2023 United States Geological Survey report, pythons that learn to burrow during cold snaps can also survive in colder temperatures.

Python Challenge hype may be hokey but raises awareness

While the hype around Florida's unique Burmese python hunts can take on a Disneyesque air — in 2020, it was tied to the Super Bowl in Miami Gardens and included a python skin football — it has raised awareness.

Rocker Ozzy Osbourne and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey have been on python hunts. Politicians, including former Florida Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, have also joined hunts.

More: Participants from all over the country and Canada come for Florida Python Challenge this week

Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Grand prize winner of the 2024 python challenge announced