Ammon News - A team dedicated to controlling populations of invasive Burmese pythons in South Florida has deployed another unique method to find the elusive predators: robotic rabbits.

The robots are remote-controlled, solar-powered and designed to look like marsh rabbits, a preferred choice of prey for the pythons, according to the South Florida Water Management District, which is funding the project as part of its Python Elimination Program.

Researchers designed the devices to produce a heat signature and emit a smell designed to attract the pythons, according to the utility company. They are also equipped with cameras to monitor for the pythons' movements and alert officials when one is detected who can then send out a snake wrangler to detect and euthanize the animals.

The robots were strategically placed throughout South Florida, according to the utility company.

"We want to capture all of the processes that an actual rabbit would give off," said Robert McCleery, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Florida, told the Palm Beach Post.

Scientists at the University of Florida conducted the research, which was partly funded by the FWC. The South Florida Water Management District is funding the experiment.

"Our partners have allowed us to trial these things that may sound a little crazy," McCleery said. "Working in the Everglades for ten years, you get tired of documenting the problem. You want to address it."

The researchers replaced the stuffing in 40 toy rabbits with electrical components powered by solar energy and waterproofed them to withstand the rain and humidity, according to the Post.

This isn't the first time snake hunters have used creative means to capture their prey. In 2020, the FWC deployed python-sniffing detector dogs to track pythons in South Florida.

In 2022, University of Florida researchers put live rabbits in cages in the Everglades to lure the snakes. Over 90 days, nine rabbit pens lured 22 pythons, leading the snakes to stay in the area for more than an hour on average, according to a state report.

ABC