Meet the Python Hunter Who Placed 2nd in Florida's Most Snakes Caught Challenge

The 2024 Florida Python Challenge began at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 9 and ended at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 18.

A total of 857 participants took part in the 2024 snake hunt, from 33 states and Canada. They eliminated 195 pythons.

Participants hunted in designated areas that stretch from western Palm Beach County to the Tamiami Trail in the Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area. Other management areas included in the Python Challenge are Holey Land, Rotenberger and Southern Glades.

The $10,000 grand prize winner was Ronald Kiger of Marion County, who brought 20 Burmese pythons to the contest.

Donna Kalil, a seasoned python hunter contracted by the South Florida Water Management District, was optimistic this year that her total of 19 snakes would earn her the grand prize. However, she won $2,500 for bringing in the most snakes in the professional category after Kiger.

Meet Donna Kalil, the seasoned python hunter who has caught many Burmese snakes over the years during the annual hunt in Florida

Donna Kalil poses with one of her catches. Kalil is a hunter with the South Florida Water Management District's python removal program. Contributed by Donna Kalil — Donna Kalil poses with one of her catches. Kalil is a hunter with the South Florida Water Management District’s python removal program. Contributed by Donna Kalil

Donna Kalil captures a wild Burmese python in the Everglades west of Miami on Monday, Oct. 28, 2019. She hunts several days a week and has captured hundreds of the invasive species. Pythons have invaded the Everglades and wreaked havoc on the ecosystem.

Kalil has been competing since 2013, but for many years now she has spent as much time hunting as she has spent chatting with other hunters and helping novices.

Kalil’s longest snake this year was 12 feet. She said she usually has two volunteers with her each night, including a friend from Canada.

“It was a good challenge,” she said. “You get tired, it’s a challenge to take on.”

What is the Florida Python Challenge?

The Florida Python Challenge is a python elimination competition that takes place in August. Participants have nine days to kill as many Burmese pythons as possible. The 2024 python elimination competition begins at 12:01 a.m. on August 9 and ends at 5 p.m. on August 18. The competition helps protect the Everglades habitat and all its native animals by eliminating invasive Burmese pythons.

All you need to know: Florida Python Challenge, snake hunting with a cult following

What were the prizes for the 2024 Florida Python Challenge?

The grand prize of $10,000 is awarded to the participant who captures the most snakes in the competition. There are also three categories of competition: professional, novice and military. Each category includes a prize of $2,500 for the most pythons captured, $1,500 for the second most pythons captured and $1,000 for the longest python.

Participants can only win one prize, so if someone wins two, they will receive the prize with the highest value and the next qualified hunter will win the remaining prize.

Why hunt Burmese pythons?

Florida began hunting pythons in earnest around 2012. That was the first year of the challenge, and that same year, a study in Everglades National Park suggested that pythons were responsible for an 85 to 100 percent decline in the population of medium-sized fur-bearing animals, such as raccoons and rabbits.

Kimberly Miller is a reporter for the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network in Florida. She covers real estate, weather and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate digest. If you have any information, send it to [email protected]. Help us support our local journalism, subscribe today

This article was originally published on Palm Beach Post: Florida Python Challenge 2024: Donna Kalil captures 19 Burmese pythons