Herpetologist Shawn Heflick has a permit from the State of Florida to hunt Burmese Pythons in the Everglades. He is also the president of the Central Florida Herpetological Society. Of note he indicates in an interview that there "is very little genetic variation with this wild population…" and goes on to say that a "genetic study done on this population suggest that the population stems from the Hurricane Andrew devastation in 1992." The hurricane is an important event as a reptile breeding facility had an estimated nine hundred animals released due to its destruction by the Hurricane in 1992. The location of this facility is thought to be the "epicenter" of the current Burmese Python population. Mr. Heflick also goes on to add that the record cold weather in parts of Florida has led to a "large number" of deaths in the local Burmese Python population.
