MyFWC Florida Fish and Wildlife
invasive Burmese pythons captured in 2026 Florida Python Challenge
The 2026 Florida Python Challenge announced its winners this week. Sadly, I once again missed being able to participate in this year’s Florida Python Challenge despite it taking place a hop, skip, and a jump from my house because I was out of town. But I am in complete awe of this year’s winning snake wranglers.
To be clear, Burmese pythons are an invasive species here in Florida. They have the capacity to destroy local ecology and sensitive populations of native animals. So their humane removal is a great thing for keeping Florida’s natural wetlands safe. Regardless of how one might feel about Hunting, this is an act of protecting natural habitats.
2026 Florida Python Challenge Results
In total, there were 907 participants from 30 states and 3 countries in the 2026 Florida Python Challenge. In total, 280 invasive Burmese pythons were caught and removed from the wild.
This year’s grand prize winner was Tom Rahill. He took home the $10,000 grand prize after catching 96 Burmese pythons. Second place went to Christina Kraus who captured 36 pythons and earned $2,500 for her effort. Third place was awarded to Taylor Stanberry who removed 34 pythons. That is 166 pythons out of the 280 total caught by these three experts. Here is winner Tom Rahill pulling in one of his 96 snakes:
MyFWC Florida Fish and Wildlife
2026 Florida Python Challenge winner Tom Rahill
What about the biggest???
A $1,000 prize is awarded to the competitor that catches the longest Burmese python. This year’s was an ABSOLUTE UNIT. It was a 16 foot, 5 inch snake caught by Rahm Levinson.
There are also Novice and Military categories with the Novice winner removing 9 Burmese pythons and the Military winner capturing 3. The longest snake caught by someone in the Novice category was a 8’2″ snake captured by Vincent Poole. In the Military category, the longest snake was an 8’7″ snake caught by Jeffery ‘Heath’ Roser of the US Army.
MyFWC Florida Fish and Wildlife
invasive Burmese pythons captured in 2026 Florida Python Challenge
The event takes place over a 10-day period and this year all 280 snakes were removed from the Everglades National Park, Florida’s only National Park. To date, the laragest Burmese python capture in Florida is a 19-footer from 2023 but this annual challenge has produced some monsters as well like the nearly 17′ winner this year.
FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto said “the 2026 Florida Python Challenge was a resounding success, made possible by the dedication of our staff, the generous support of our partners, the continued leadership of Gov. DeSantis and the commitment of the many competitors who participated in this year’s event. With more than 1,600 pythons removed through Florida Python Challenge events to date and more than 19,000 removed by FWC and South Florida Water Management District contractors since 2017, these collective efforts continue to reduce the threat Burmese pythons pose to Florida’s native wildlife and ecosystems.”
Earlier this Summer, an 18-footer was caught here in Florida. Check this thing out:
Next year’s my year. I have been out of town the past three years in a row during the Florida Python Challenge but all signs indicate I’ll be around next year, assuming they’re running it back again. Who’s coming with me?