South Florida’s annual python showdown is back on the calendar. The 10-day Florida Python Challenge is set for 12:01 a.m. on July 10 through 5 p.m. on July 19, 2026, with registration now open to both first-timers and seasoned snake wranglers. The state-run competition mixes cash prizes with conservation work as participants help remove invasive Burmese pythons that have battered Everglades wildlife. Organizers frame the event as a blend of public education, hands-on field training and coordinated searching across multiple public lands.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has confirmed the July 10 to 19 window and opened sign-ups, according to CBS Miami. Participants can register on the official Florida Python Challenge website. Organizers say the event is designed to welcome both novices and professionals, and to channel volunteer enthusiasm into longer-term python control efforts.
Where You Will Be Searching
Hunters will be able to submit pythons captured at eight official competition locations across South Florida, including Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area, Everglades National Park and Holey Land Wildlife Management Area, NBC 6 South Florida reports. Each site comes with its own maps and rulebook that participants must follow while working on public lands.
How Big The Problem Still Is
The 2026 contest follows a standout 2025 event, when 934 registrants removed a record 294 pythons and the Ultimate Grand Prize winner walked away with $10,000 after taking 60 snakes, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported. The commission says more than 23,000 wild Burmese pythons have been removed from Florida since 2000, a tally that underscores just how entrenched the species has become. Scientists warn the snakes have driven steep declines in small mammals in the Everglades, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Rules, Training And Safety
All entrants are required to complete the 2026 Required Online Training and score at least 85 percent on the quiz before they can register, and the registration fee is $25, according to the Florida Python Challenge site. Competition rules prohibit firearms and the use of dogs, and spell out disqualifying actions such as killing native snakes or disturbing eggs, NBC 6 South Florida and event materials note. Novice participants must humanely kill captured pythons at the site of capture, while professionals may transport live snakes for official processing.
Partners And Detection Tools
State agencies and nonprofit partners, including the FWC, the South Florida Water Management District and the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida, are ramping up removal efforts and coordinating the July event, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection reported. Officials have also tested detection dogs and solar-powered robotic “rabbits” that are designed to lure and trap pythons, the Associated Press reported.
For those who are not planning to compete but still want to help, officials urge residents to report python sightings through the FWC’s invasive species reporting tools or hotline, and to look for year-round volunteer training and removal programs on MyFWC. Organizers say the July competition uses cash prizes to pull more people into ongoing python control work that aims to protect Everglades wildlife.
