Robot bunnies deployed in Florida to fight invasive pythons

Burmese pythons, one of the world’s largest snakes, are also one of the most problematic invasive species in South Florida. First spotted in the Florida Everglades in the 1970s, the snakes were introduced, either accidentally or intentionally, through the exotic pet trade.

Since then, pythons have become top predators in the local food ecosystem. Despite the fact that they now exist throughout much of South Florida, they remain difficult to track down. That means researchers and conservationists need to find creative ways to lure them out into the open. 

And by creative, we mean really creative—and University of Florida (UF) researchers clearly understood the assignment.

As reported by The Palm Beach Post, researchers led by UF professor of wildlife ecology and conservation Robert McCleery have released 40 solar-powered, remote-controlled robot bunnies in South Florida this month. The researchers replaced the plush toy’s stuffing with motors and heaters to imitate the motions and body temperatures of one of pythons’ favorite snacks: marsh rabbits (Sylvilagus palustris). 

“We want to capture all of the processes that an actual rabbit would give off,” McCleery explained. Previous research had demonstrated that live, penned rabbits successfully attract pythons, but this approach requires too much manpower to care for the animals at scale. 

Cue robot bunnies. They don’t need to be fed, their pens don’t need to be cleaned, they’re waterproof, and they’re decked out with a motion-sensor camera that pings researchers if a python approaches. 

“If we can see a statistically significant number of pythons that are coming to investigate these robotic rabbits and the pens that would be a success, because right now, pythons do a great job of staying hidden,” Mike Kirkland, lead invasive animal biologist for the South Florida Water Management District, told WINK.
It remains to be seen whether the pythons will be fooled. If they’re not, the researchers have another trick in their backpocket, according to The Palm Beach Post: perfuming the robots with rabbit scent.