Robotic rabbits deployed in Everglades to detect Burmese pythons

This summer, the South Florida Water Management District and researchers at the University of Florida deployed 120 solar powered robotic rabbits across the Everglades to draw out invasive Burmese pythons, officials said, part of an experimental effort to improve detection of snakes that are decimating native wildlife in the subtropical wetlands. The devices are designed to move, emit heat and scent, and trigger cameras that alert crews when a python approaches, authorities said.

"Removing them is fairly simple. It is detection. We are having a really hard time finding them," Mike Kirkland, the water district's lead invasive animal biologist, said, describing why the district turned to robotic lures after past attempts to use live rabbits proved too costly and time consuming. The retrofitted toy rabbits cost roughly $4,000 each and can be switched on and off remotely while enclosed in small pens monitored by cameras. When a camera detects a snake, a contractor is dispatched to remove it, Kirkland said.

Officials and scientists say the python problem in the Everglades is severe. The National Park Service and other authorities report that Burmese pythons have caused a roughly 95...