Burmese pythons spread beyond the Everglades as Florida's Python Challenge begins, offering $25,000 in prizes.

Catching a python can be very challenging during the Florida Python Challenge. But when one is caught, there are rules for how to kill the invasive.

What began as a family outing to help remove invasive snakes from Florida's Everglades quickly turned into a terrifying fight for survival. Carl Jackson believed he had spotted a Burmese python measuring about 12 feet as it crossed a dirt road in Big Cypress National Preserve.

University of Florida researchers documented a surprising new threat to Burmese python eggs in the Everglades, adding to growing evidence that native wildlife is fighting back against the invasive species.

More than 200 of the invasive pythons were removed from South Florida during last year's hunt, according to the FWC.

Large pythons have shared forests, grasslands and river systems across Asia for thousands of years, yet two of the region's most famous species are often mistaken for one another. The Burmese python and the Indian rock python belong to the same genus and were even treated as closely related forms of the same species for many years.

The June winners of the South Florida Water Management District python elimination program rakes in snakes and money.

"I probably would have ridden right past it, but I saw movement."