Puerto Rico groans from the invasion of giant snakes (4 photos + 1 video)
Huge pythons and boa constrictors are rampant in Puerto Rico. These species are invasive to the Caribbean island. They attack livestock, pets and local fauna - birds are especially affected. Local residents do not know how to cope with this scourge. 
The problem first emerged more than a decade ago, and since then the island's residents have been desperately trying to suppress the growing snake population. However, nothing works out - there are more and more snakes and they capture more and more territories.
“It’s very, very bad,” says Alberto R. Puente-Rolon, a biologist at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayague. “We have a serious problem and a serious threat to the bird species here.”
Native to South and Central America, boa constrictors first appeared in Puerto Rico around 2012. This is likely due to the exotic pet trade, and some of these pets were accidentally released into the wild.
With no natural predators to keep the 75-pound snakes at bay, the boa constrictor population has been growing exponentially over the past decade.
One of the clearest examples of this is Cabo Rojo, a sanctuary on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico, where experts estimate there are at least five constrictor boas per acre of land.
In the last four months alone, a team of researchers have discovered more than 150 invasive boa constrictors - a lot, especially given how inhospitable the snake's habitat is. It is extremely hot and dry, with sparse forest foliage, leaving little space for the boa constrictors, which can grow to an average of 5 meters in length, to hide.
Boas prefer to live in places with high humidity and the ability to find shelter. If they are ready to settle in such numbers even in unfavorable conditions, this speaks only of one thing - their large numbers, which leads to the fact that they gradually spread even into habitats that are more difficult for them.
It has become common to find boa constrictors and reticulated pythons - the longest (up to 9 meters) snakes in the world - in backyards, chicken coops and even cars, and, unfortunately, eating small animals roaming fields.
Local residents took matters into their own hands and became snake hunters.
“We need to find more because my cats are gone, my chickens are gone,” said Odalis Luna, a local hunter who once caught a 5-meter reticulated python in front of her house. - This is problem".
Cats, birds and other small mammals were found in the stomachs of the dead snakes, including the Puerto Rican parrot, one of the rarest bird species in the world.
Any decline in the numbers of these native species could have devastating consequences for Puerto Rico's ecosystem, experts say, and diseases carried by boa constrictors and pythons also pose a threat to the island's smaller native snakes.
Fortunately, with the help of snake hunters, this invasion can still be reversed. The giant reptiles are killed on the spot or authorities are called to take the captured snakes to Kambalache, an exotic animal detention center. Invasive snakes arrive almost daily.
However, how many monsters remain in the Puerto Rican wild remains a mystery.
