Invasive species threaten to overwhelm efforts to restore the Everglades, with none more voracious than Burmese pythons.
Volunteer python hunter Dave Hackathorn, 53, of Waverly, W.Va., keeps an eye out for snakes from the roof of an SUV driven by Donna Kalil, 60, of Kendall, Fla. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Donna Kalil, a python removal agent contracted by the South Florida Water Management District, looks for a python nest in the Everglades west of Weston, Fla. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Donna Kalil and volunteer python hunter Dave Hackathorn get ready to bag an 8.5-foot python in the Everglades. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Volunteers Amy Siewe, 45, of Naples, Fla., and Dave Hackathorn keep an eye out for snakes from the roof of Donna Kalil’s SUV. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Donna Kalil and Dave Hackathorn bag a 5-foot python in the Everglades, (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Donna Kalil with an 8.5-foot python. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
An alligator in the water of the Everglades off Highway 27, west of Weston, Fla. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
A dragonfly rests on a blade of grass in the Everglades. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
An anhinga rests in a tree in the Everglades. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Louis Cave, left, of Key Largo, Fla., and Joaquin Vila of Miami turn in snakes on the last day of the Python Challenge. In the truck is an 8-foot python caught by Cave. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Donna Kalil, right, thanks volunteer python hunter Dave Hackathorn after he gave her a snake walking stick before they head out for an evening of python hunting in the Everglades. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
