The 2026 Florida Python Challenge is set to return next month, offering participants the chance to compete for $25,000 in cash prizes while helping remove invasive Burmese pythons from Florida’s Everglades ecosystem.
Hosted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the South Florida Water Management District, the annual competition will run from July 10 through July 19. Registration remains open through the final day of the event.
The challenge’s top prize is $10,000, awarded to the participant who removes the most Burmese pythons during the 10-day competition. Additional prizes will be awarded for the most and longest pythons removed in the novice, professional, and military divisions.
Officials announced that Everglades National Park will once again serve as a competition partner and one of eight official event locations.
The Florida Python Challenge was launched to help combat the spread of invasive Burmese pythons, which threaten native wildlife throughout South Florida. According to organizers, participants in the 2025 competition removed a record 294 pythons, bringing the cumulative total removed during all Python Challenge events to 1,406. Last year’s competition attracted 934 participants from 30 states and Canada.
Since 2000, more than 27,000 Burmese pythons have been reported removed from Florida’s environment. Wildlife officials say the nonnative snakes prey on birds, mammals, and reptiles and can lay between 50 and more than 100 eggs at a time.
In addition to the annual challenge, the FWC allows year-round python removal opportunities on dozens of managed lands. Burmese pythons may also be humanely killed on private property with the landowner’s permission without a permit or hunting license.
Participants can register, complete required training, and learn more about the competition at Florida Python Challenge.
SOURCE: FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION
