Pison, Burma, has terrified the Florida Everglades for years. Scientists hope that the robotic bunny will end the reptile reign against the region.
5 Things You Need to Know About the Python Challenge in Florida
Pisons in Burma have a negative effect on wildlife in their hometown. Every year you can participate in contests that help eliminate threats.
They are waiting to seduce their prey in the grass of South Florida, a new weapon in the state’s battle to remove invasive python hiding.
Yes, it’s a mechanical rabbit. Don’t call them energy bunnies.
Researchers at the University of Florida are equipped with 40 furry fake toy rabbits, with motors and small heaters working together to mimic the movement and temperature of rabbits in the wetlands.
The mission of the fluffy military? It helps parents remove the highly destructive snakes that have invaded the state’s ecosystem.
Why do they use robot rabbits?
Bunny spins. They shake. They move randomly, and their creation is based on more than a decade of scientific reviews that began with a 2012 study in which rabbits were transported to Everglades National Park to see if they would become python’s prey.
“The rabbits didn’t go well,” said Robert McCreeley, UF professor of wildlife ecology and conservation, who leads research into robotic bunny that started this summer.
Subsequent studies revealed that the average weekly Python attraction speed is depicted on a living rabbit with one snake pen per week. However, having multiple live rabbits in the pen is a hassle to spread across the formidable landscape and requires too many people to take care of them.
So why not a robot bunny?
“We want to capture all the processes that an actual rabbit would release,” McCreeley said. “But I’m an ecologist. I’m not the one sitting around making robots.”
Instead, Chris Dutton, a professor of UF ecology but a more mechanically accomplished colleague, pulled stuffing out from a toy rabbit and replaced it with 30 solar-powered and controlled electronic components so that they could be turned on and off at a certain time.
The rabbits were located in various regions of South Florida in July 2025, and included a testing phase that included a camera that was programmed to recognize Python movements and alert researchers when they approached the rabbit pen. One of the biggest challenges was the bunny waterproofing, which allowed us to radiate the correct temperature.
McCleery was reluctant to give details about where the rabbit pen was.
“I don’t want the people who hunt my Roboban,” he said.
In version 2.0 of the study, if movement and heat are not tricking the snake, the plush adds a bunny scent.
Why is Pison in Burma the problem?
Pisons in Burma do not live in Florida. They were introduced to the state through the pet trade in the 1970s and released into the wild over time. According to the 2021 Florida Python Control Plan, by the mid-1980s, snakes had gained scaffolding in Everglades National Park, threatening other important species in the ecosystem and proliferating quickly.
A 2012 study by the US Geological Survey found that pythons contributed to the decline in population of half a dozen animals, including raccoons, opossums, bobcats, foxes, wetland rabbits and cottonton tile rabbits.
USGS places Burmese Python populations in Everglades, tens of thousands of them.
Pythons have moved north from the park, and researchers believe that if temperatures continue to warm and snakes dig holes during cold snaps, they may be able to survive as north as Georgia.
What else does Florida do to control Python populations?
State officials seeking to ease the Python population have transformed into many strategies with various successes.
Famous snake hunters from the Irla tribe of India were brought in to hunt and share their skills. People use near-infrared cameras for Python detection and specially designed traps. Some Python is tracked by water-drained DNA.
The annual Florida Python Challenge also has a legendary status, attracting hundreds of hunters each year, competing for the $10,000 grand prize. The 10-day challenge was developed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to remove Pison from state land. This year’s challenge will be held until July 20th.
Starting in 2017, the South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Board also began paying 100 bounty hunters hourly wages and bonuses based on the length of the snakes caught.
Hunter has removed an estimated 15,800 snakes since 2019, calling it “the most effective management strategy in the history of the matter” by the district’s invasive animal biologist Mike Kirkland.
Kirkland oversees the district’s hunters and is involved in other Python removal projects, including the Robo Bunny experiment.
“It’s a project like (McCleery’s) that can be used in areas of important ecological significance that allow Pythons to get out of their hideout and come to us,” Kirkland told the board. “That could be a bit of a game changer.”
McCreeley said he was happy that state officials were willing to experiment.
“Our partners allowed us to try these things that might sound a little crazy,” McCreeley said. “I’m tired of working with the Everglades for 10 years and documenting issues. You want to deal with it.”
McCleery said the researchers didn’t name the robot rabbit, but they brought home a home that needed repairs. His son named it “Bumbun.”
Kimberly Miller reports reports for the Karissa Waddick report for the Palm Beach Post and USA Today.
Contribution: Kim Luciani, USA Today Network
