Meet the female python hunter taking 2nd place for most snakes caught in Florida challenge
The 2024 Florida Python Challenge began at 12:01 am Friday, Aug. 9 and ended at 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18.
In total, 857 participants competed in the 2024 snake hunt 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.
The winner of the $10,000 grand prize, was Ronald Kiger of Marion County, who brought in 20 Burmese pythons during the contest.
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, however, she took home $2,500 for bringing in the most snakes in the professional category after Kiger.
Meet Donna Kalil, the veteran python hunter, who has caught many Burmese snakes through the years in the annual Florida hunt
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.
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."
What is the Florida Python Challenge?
The Florida Python Challenge is a python removal competition that happens in August. Participants have nine days to kill as many Burmese pythons as possible. The 2024 python removal competition begins at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 9 and ends at 5 p.m. on Aug. 18. The competition helps protect the Everglades habitat and all its native animals by removing the invasive Burmese pythons.
Everything to know:Florida Python Challenge, the snake hunt with a cult-like following
What were 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.
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.
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: Florida Python Challenge 2024: Donna Kalil captures 19 Burmese pythons
