KEY LARGO, Fla. (AP) — The Burmese python has gotten a lot of attention lately, but it's not the only invasive species that worries wildlife officials in Florida.
More than 1,500 people signed up to hunt pythons in the Everglades during the "Python Challenge" that ended Sunday. Meanwhile, state and federal wildlife agencies continued their efforts to control populations of other species that threaten native wildlife.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized a plan to trap feral cats and other predators that roam federal wildlife refuges in the Florida Keys. The decline of two endangered mammals in those refuges is blamed largely on free-roaming cats.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has specialized teams that trap black-and-white tegus, among other invasive reptiles. The lizard gorges on the eggs of native species.
