A new camera that uses special wavelengths of light could help Florida in its fight against the invasive Burmese python.
Researchers at the University of Central Florida and the non-profit company Imec developed the camera to help expose the snake. The python is typically very difficult to detect because of its camouflage markings. Thermal imaging doesn't work because pythons are cold-blooded and adopt the temperature of their surroundings.
The Palm Beach Post reports that researchers plan to attach a drone that will allow the camera to identify a python and alert the hunter.
Wildlife officials recently tripled their python budget to nearly $1 million. Officials say pythons are destroying the Everglades' ecosystem, warning that one female python can produce 30 and 60 hatchlings at a time.
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