A 10-day python hunt in South Florida ended with a first. Taylor Stanberry, a 29-year-old contract hunter for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, removed 60 Burmese pythons to win the 2025 Florida Python Challenge and became the first woman to take the grand prize.

Organizers said Stanberry won the $10,000 top prize. The 2025 Florida Python Challenge drew more than 900 participants for the 10-day effort to reduce invasive snakes in South Florida, according to USA Today.

Stanberry said she had been hunting pythons for a decade, but this was her first time entering the challenge. Of the 60 snakes she removed, 33 were female and 27 were male. She said the biggest measured about 9.5 to 10 feet long.

Competitors removed 294 pythons in total, the most since the contest began in 2013.

Donna Kalil, who hunts on contract for the South Florida Water Management District, caught 56 snakes to win the professional category.

“It’s all because of the timing,” Kalil said. “There were a lot of little baby snakes just getting out of the nest. Some had already had a meal. They come out and are ready to eat.”

Burmese pythons are an invasive species in Florida and have damaged the Everglades ecosystem for years by preying on birds, mammals and reptiles native to the region. USA Today cited a 2012 Everglades National Park study that linked pythons to 85 percent to 100 percent declines in medium-sized furry animals, including raccoons and rabbits.

The annual challenge is one of Florida’s most visible python-control efforts, with amateur and professional hunters working in zones from western Palm Beach County to the Tamiami Trail in Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area. Other management areas in the challenge included Holey Land, Rotenberger and Southern Glades.

This was the first year Everglades National Park allowed hunting during the challenge. Participants must capture the snakes, humanely euthanize them and avoid harming native wildlife.

The contest includes novice, professional and military divisions, with prizes for the most snakes caught and the longest python. Since 2019, hunters working with the South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have removed more than 15,800 pythons from South Florida.

“Every invasive python removed is a win,” said Sarah Funk, who coordinates the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s nonnative fish and wildlife program.

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