What was my first thought about news that the invasive Burmese python is making itself at home in the Sunshine State?

Some very rough estimates put the state’s pet python population above 5,000. More than 350 have been found in [the Everglades] since 2002, with others showing up in mangroves along Florida’s west coast and farther north in the state. There are perhaps 10 more for every one that is seen, [Everglades National Park biologist Skip] Snow said.

In May 2006, biologists confirmed that Everglades pythons were not a transient curiosity when they found the first eggs. “There were 46 eggs, 44 fertile,” Mr. Snow said. Shortly afterward, they found another clutch of two dozen, already hatched.

My thought was that the state’s notorious stomach-bursting alligators aren’t doing their part to stem this slithering spread.