The state is offering a free “Python Patrol” course to learn how to identify, catch and humanely kill pythons.

The South Florida Water Management District's new python incentive program has led to the elimination of more than 100 of the invasive snakes.

The South Florida Water Management District's new python incentive program has led to the elimination of more than 100 of the invasive snakes.

The Burmese python — an apex predator that can grow over 18 feet long and eat animals larger than itself — has decimated native wildlife throughout much of South Florida.