The Florida Restaurant Combating Invasive Pythons With Free Pizza

What if you could save a unique ecosystem and also get free pizza? Deep in Everglades City, Florida, you'll find Wildman's Pizza, Pasta & Pythons. You won't find pythons on the menu (though it wouldn't be the first time snake pizza has been served). But if you bring in a dead python, you'll get a free pizza.

If this arrangement sounds like it was concocted withing the imagination of an eight-year-old it's probably because the Florida Everglades are straight out of a fantasy novel. It's almost whimsical that there's a swamp that's actually a slow-moving river, and that is the only place in the world where both alligators and crocodiles live. Despite sounding like a lost chapter of "The NeverEnding Story," the Everglades are very much real. And right now, they're facing a mortal enemy: Burmese pythons.

This invasive species is wreaking havoc on the delicate ecosystem. Burmese pythons have insatiable appetites and reproduce quickly. They've been linked to the decimation of many species, including an 85% reduction in bobcat encounters and over 90% fewer raccoons and opossums, animals on which native predators rely. Local lover of the Everglades, Dusty "Wildman" Crum has decided to take matters into his own hands, earning a reputation as one of the best python hunters in the state. To encourage others to join the cause, he offers a large house specialty pizza in exchange for a python carcass.

Although fantasy novels need a clear, evil villain, the truth is that pythons are innocent victims of irresponsible humans. The snakes were popular pets in the 1990s, but many either escaped and reached the Everglades or were purposefully released there when their owners got bored of them. They found themselves in an idyllic place where rodents, birds, and deer were abundant and where they had no predators and little competition. It was heaven for them and hell for anyone who loves the Everglades. 

This is why people like Crum have made culling pythons their life mission. The Florida government pays contractors to kill pythons and hosts an annual Python Challenge that has a grand prize of $10,000 for whoever catches the most snakes, as well as smaller prizes for subcategories. While it's sad that these beautiful animals have to die, it's necessary if we want native species in the Everglades to survive. 

If you'd like to contribute to the cause, anyone can join the python hunt. You could also do tours with licensed python hunters — just make sure to pass by Wildman's and get your free pizza if you catch a snake! Maybe in the future, the restaurant will have python on the menu. Snakes are a nutritious and sustainable meat option, so it would be fun to eat what you hunt. Python eating could even become an unusual food challenge that helps a good cause.