For those who are unfamiliar, Guardians of the Glades is a new Discovery show centered on people protecting the Everglades by combating Burmese pythons. This means that it is indeed an unscripted show, though one with a much more novel concept than most of its counterparts. With that said, since unscripted shows have such a terrible reputation for being fake, it should come as no surprise to learn that there are some people out there who have been wondering about Guardians of the Glades.
Could Guardians of the Glades Be Fake?
For starters, it is important to note that the concept for Guardians of the Glades is real. The Burmese python is indeed an invasive species that has had a horrendous impact on the local species of the Everglades. As a result, there are indeed various efforts that have been established for the purpose of combating them.
In short, the Burmese python is native to Southeast Asia, thus explaining the name of the species. Habitat-wise, Burmese pythons come from the jungles as well as the marshes of its native range, which is why it was able to make such a smooth transition to the conditions of the Everglades when they were introduced to said environment. Due to this, it is no wonder that Burmese pythons were able to not just survive but also thrive, so much so that they are now believed to be capable of maintaining their own populations without the need for new introductions.
As for how Burmese pythons managed to make it to the United States, well, that is no great mystery. Of course, no one can be sure when the first Burmese pythons were introduced to the Everglades, but it is common knowledge that the snakes saw a huge surge of popularity as pets in the 1990s and 2000s. As a result, tens of thousands of the animals were brought into the United States, with the result that some were eventually let loose into the wild. In some cases, it is believed that this happened by pure misfortune, with an excellent example being the time when Hurricane Andrew destroyed a zoo with facilities where the snakes were being bred. However, it seems safe to say that there were other cases of irresponsible pet owners just dumping their Burmese pythons into the wild, presumably based on the very mistaken assumption that just one snake couldn’t make a difference. After all, while Burmese pythons are prized for their beautiful patterns as well as their relatively docile nature, they are also huge animals that can grow with incredible speed, meaning that it isn’t uncommon for unprepared snake owners to struggle to meet their needs.
Out in the Everglades, Burmese pythons have had a very negative effect on local species. Something that is perhaps unsurprising when they are considered to be very opportunistic apex predators. For those who are curious, Burmese pythons can be considered very opportunistic for a couple of reasons. First, they are not what anyone would call picky when it comes to their food, meaning that they are perfectly prepared to chow down on a wide range of whatever it is that they can catch. Second, Burmese pythons are actually notorious for being willing to continue eating so long as the food is available to them, which is why obesity is a serious problem for captive specimens. On top of this, it should be mentioned that there aren’t a lot of local species in the Everglades that can pose a serious threat to Burmese pythons. Yes, there have been recorded incidences of alligators predating upon and being predated upon by Burmese pythons. However, these incidences are nowhere near enough to keep the species’s population size at a manageable level.
Moving on, the use of bounty hunters to keep the population size of Burmese pythons at a manageable level is a real one as well. For those who are curious, various parties have proposed various solutions to the problem of Burmese python control in the Everglades. First, there are people who support introducing some kind of biological control to the Everglades, with potential examples ranging from jaguars that predate upon big snakes to some kind of pathogen that can affect the Burmese python. However, there is a very long history of such introductions having unpredictable consequences, so it should come as no surprise to learn that the interested parties aren’t exactly jumping at said proposals but are instead taking them slow. Second, there are people who support using traps to catch Burmese pythons, which are a popular method for combating other snake species. Unfortunately, traps are not an adequate solution for Burmese pythons in the Everglades for a number of reasons such as the sheer size of the area that must be covered, the challenges of building traps that can catch and hold Burmese pythons in less than optimal conditions, and the fact that Burmese pythons just don’t move around very much. Third, there are indeed people who are paid to catch Burmese pythons in the Everglades, which isn’t a perfect solution but nonetheless serves to reduce the losses of local species to some extent for the time being. Theoretically, it might be possible to encourage more people to catch Burmese pythons if their catches could be put to some kind of productive use, but that is undermined to a considerable extent by the fact that Burmese pythons in the Everglades are unsafe for human consumption because of high levels of mercury caused by bio-accumulation.
Is Guardians of the Glades Fake?
Currently, there is no real way to say whether Guardians of the Glades is fake or not because there is insufficient information for interested individuals to tell. It seems likely that the people behind the show are using editing as well as various other tricks to make the show more dramatic in nature because that is just standard practice for the making of unscripted shows. However, it also seems likely that the core substance of the show is real because there are indeed people who hunt Burmese pythons in the Everglades for a living.
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