Invasive pythons have been blamed for the decline of many mammals in a protected area in Florida. Now, Robert McCleery of the University of Florida in Gainesville and his team have found evidence for that claim.

Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) invaded Florida's iconic Everglades National Park several decades ago. To study the pythons' effects, the researchers focused on marsh rabbits (Sylvilagus palustris), which have all but disappeared from the park. They released 26 radio-collared rabbits at two sites and found that Burmese pythons were responsible for 77% of the deaths within 11 months, as confirmed by DNA extracted from partially eaten rabbits or by finding the entire collared animal inside a python's belly.

Outside the pythons' current range, 71% of the rabbit mortalities were linked to mammals, mainly bobcats (Lynx rufus) and coyotes (Canis latrans).

Proc. R. Soc. B 282, 20150120 (2015)