User:Mkarasik/Burmese python

Copied and pasted "Lead," "Diet," and "Conservation" sections from the Burmese Python Wikipedia page. Bolded parts and some citations are my edits.

Lead

The Burmese python (Python bivittatus) is one of the largest species of snakes. It is native to a large area of Southeast Asia, where it is considered vulnerable by the IUCN, but is found as an invasive species in the southeastern United States as a result of the pet trade. Until 2009, it was considered a subspecies of Python molurus, but is now recognized as belonging to a distinct species.

As an invasive species

Main article: Burmese pythons in Florida

United States range in 2007

A captured Burmese python in the Florida Everglades

Python invasion has been particularly extensive, notably across South Florida, where a large number of pythons can now be found in the Florida Everglades. The current number of Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades may have reached a minimum viable population and become an invasive species. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 was deemed responsible for the destruction of a python-breeding facility and zoo, and these escaped snakes spread and populated areas into the Everglades. More than 1,330 have been captured in the Everglades. Also, between 1996 and 2006, the Burmese python gained popularity in the pet trade, with more than 90,000 snakes imported into the U.S.

By 2007, the Burmese python was found in northern Florida and in the coastal areas of the Florida Panhandle. The importation of Burmese pythons was banned in the United States in January 2012 by the U.S. Department of the Interior. A 2012 report stated, "in areas where the snakes are well established, foxes and rabbits have disappeared. Sightings of raccoons are down by 99.3%, opossums by 98.9%, and white-tailed deer by 94.1%." Bird and coyote populations may also be threatened, as well as the already-rare Florida panther. In addition to this correlational relationship, the pythons have also been experimentally shown to decrease marsh rabbit populations, further suggesting they are responsible for many of the recorded mammal declines. They may also outcompete native predators for food.

Diet

Like all snakes, the Burmese python is carnivorous. Its diet consists primarily of birds and mammals, but also includes amphibians and reptiles. It is a sit-and-wait predator, meaning it spends most of its time staying relatively still, waiting for prey to approach, then striking rapidly. The snake grabs a prey animal with its sharp teeth, then wraps its body around the animal to kill it through constriction. The python then swallows its prey whole. It is often found near human habitation due to the presence of rats, mice, and other vermin as a food source. However, its equal affinity for domesticated birds and mammals means it is often treated as a pest. In captivity, its diet consists primarily of commercially available appropriately sized rats, graduating to larger prey such as rabbits and poultry as it grows. As an invasive species in Florida, Burmese pythons primarily eat a variety of small mammals including foxes, rabbits, and raccoons. Due to their high predation levels, they have been implicated in the decline and even disappearance of many species. In their invasive range, pythons also eat birds and occasionally other reptiles. Pythons may even consume larger mammals such as pigs or goats, and are known to have attacked and eaten alligators and adult deer in Florida.

Digestion

The digestive response of Burmese pythons to such large prey has made it a model species for digestive physiology. Its sit-and-wait hunting style is characterized by long fasting periods in between meals, with Burmese pythons typically feeding every month or two, but sometimes fasting for as long as 18 months.As digestive tissues are energetically costly to maintain, they are downregulated during fasting periods to conserve energy when they are not in use. A fasting python has a reduced stomach volume and acidity, reduced intestinal mass, and a 'normal' heart volume. After ingesting prey, the entire digestive system undergoes a massive re-modelling, with rapid hypertrophy of the intestines, production of stomach acid, and a 40% increase in mass of the ventricle of the heart to fuel the digestive process. During digestion, the snake's oxygen consumption rises drastically as well, increasing with meal size by 17 to 40 times its resting rate. This dramatic increase is a result of the energetic cost of restarting many aspects of the digestive system, from rebuilding the stomach and small intestine to producing hydrochloric acid to be secreted in the stomach. Hydrochloric acid production is a significant component of the energetic cost of digestion, as digesting whole prey items requires the animal to be broken down without use of teeth, either for chewing or tearing into smaller pieces. To compensate, once food has been ingested, Burmese pythons begin producing large amounts of acid to make the stomach acidic enough to turn the food into a semi-liquid that can be passed through to the small intestine and undergo the rest of the digestive process.

The energy cost is highest in the first few days after eating when these regenerative processes are most active, meaning Burmese pythons rely on existing food energy storage to digest a new meal. Overall, the entire digestive process from food intake to defecation lasts 8-14 days.

Conservation

Wild populations are considered to be "threatened" and are listed on Appendix II of CITES. All the giant python species (including the Indian python, the African rock python, and the reticulated python) have historically been slaughtered to supply the world leather market, as well as for folk medicines and instruments, and captured for the pet trade. Some are also killed for food, particularly in Southeast Asia.

As of 2011, the IUCN has listed the Burmese python as "vulnerable", reflecting its population decline in its native range. In addition to the trade for skins and for food, habitat degradation may be a problem in some upland areas, as it reduces prey availability and creates other obstacles.

In Hong Kong, it is a protected species under Wild Animals Protection Ordinance Cap 170. It is also protected in Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia. However, it is only still common in Hong Kong and Thailand, with rare to very rare statuses in the rest of its range.

To maintain Burmese python populations, the IUCN recommends increased conservation legislation and enforcement at the national and international levels to reduce harvesting across the snake's native range. The IUCN also recommends increased research into its population ecology and threats.