Vultures Combat Pythons
University of Florida researchers document native vultures preying on invasive python eggs for the first time.
For the first time ever, native Florida vultures have been caught eating the eggs of an invasive Burmese python. Researchers from the University of Florida spotted at least four vultures raiding a python nest on June 6, 2023, at the Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area in Broward County, according to Herald Tribune. All 17 eggs in the nest were either eaten or destroyed.
The case study was published in the journal *Reptiles & Amphibians* in February 2026. It is the first documented case of a native Florida bird preying on an invasive python nest, according to Florida Today. Scientists say the find adds a new chapter to the long, costly fight against one of Florida's most destructive invasive species.
How Researchers Found the Nest and the Vultures
The story starts with a tagged female python. UF researchers used a radio-tracking program — where tagged male snakes lead scientists to females — to find a hidden nest on May 5, 2023. The nest was buried under thick limpograss. When researchers returned a month later to remove the eggs as part of a control program, they found vultures already there, feeding, according to St. Augustine Record.
The female python was found in shallow water about 12 meters away. Lead researcher Dr. Melissa Miller said, "Monitoring python nests allows for observations such as our report... It adds to the growing body of evidence supporting the idea that native wildlife consumes invasive pythons at several life stages." The vultures had to pull back heavy grass to reach the eggs, suggesting they were actively searching, not just stumbling onto a free meal.
Vultures Join a Short List of Python Egg Predators
Before this discovery, only one other native animal had been documented eating python eggs in Florida: the bobcat. A 2022 study caught a bobcat on camera eating python eggs after the female snake left the nest. American alligators are known to fight adult pythons, and cottonmouth snakes have been seen eating small juvenile pythons, according to Tallahassee Democrat.
The vulture event is the first time a native bird has been added to that list. Scientists say this may signal a slow "rewiring" of the Everglades food web. Burmese pythons have been in Florida for over 40 years. Native animals may finally be learning that python eggs are a rich, high-protein food source, according to NWF Daily News.
Why One Nest Matters in a War of Thousands
A single female Burmese python can lay 50 to 100 eggs at a time. If vultures begin raiding nests regularly, it could slow reproduction in a meaningful way. More than 20,000 pythons have been removed from Florida since 2000. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida alone has pulled out 20 tons of python biomass since 2013, according to TC Palm.
Still, scientists are cautious. Dr. Miller noted that researchers do not yet know if vultures will seek out nests on their own or if this was a one-time, lucky find. Management agencies say only a full strategy — hunting, DNA tracking, and scout-snake programs — can contain a population still estimated in the tens of thousands, according to Florida Today.
Protecting Vultures Could Become Part of the Strategy
This discovery may shift how wildlife managers think about vultures. Both Black and Turkey Vultures are native to Florida but are not typically seen as tools for pest control. Scientists say there is now a reason to study whether protecting vulture populations could help create a "bottleneck" in python reproduction, similar to how some regions protect owls to control rodent numbers, according to NWF Daily News.
Federal and state agencies have spent an estimated $120 million over two decades fighting the python invasion. Florida set aside $3.35 million in its 2023 budget just for python removal and research. If vultures can do some of that work for free, scientists say it is worth finding out how often — and how reliably — they will show up.
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