If you’ve spent much time around the Everglades lately, chances are you’ve heard somebody talking about pythons again.

The annual Florida Python Challenge™ returns this summer. Registration for the 2026 competition is now open.

This year’s 10-day event begins July 10 and runs through July 19. Participants compete for cash prizes while helping remove invasive Burmese pythons from the Everglades.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is partnering again with the South Florida Water Management District. Everglades National Park returns as one of the eight official competition locations.

The grand prize this year is $10,000 for the participant who removes the most pythons. Sponsors will also award prizes in professional, novice, and military divisions.

For locals, the Challenge has become one of those uniquely South Florida events. It sounds almost unbelievable to people from outside the area. But around here, invasive pythons are a very real issue.

Burmese pythons aren’t native to Florida and have become a major problem throughout the Everglades ecosystem. They prey on birds, mammals, and reptiles. According to the FWC, a single female can lay 50 to more than 100 eggs at a time.

The state says hunters have removed more than 27,000 Burmese pythons from Florida since 2000.

Last year’s Challenge drew 934 participants from 30 states and Canada. They took out a record 294 pythons during the 2025 event alone.

Sign up at the official Florida Python Challenge website. The site has the required online training, competition rules, and competition locations.

Outside the competition, FWC notes that property owners can humanely kill invasive pythons on their own land year-round. You don’t need a permit or hunting license.

You may also be interested in last year’s preview, Join us this July for the 2025 Florida Python Challenge, or read about Everglades National Park’s reopened Gulf Coast Visitor Center in Everglades City.