The program has helped to remove scores of invasive snakes that are incredibly damaging to Florida’s natural wildlife. “For me and colleague Leah Voss, the photojournalist who captured the images of our trip into the woods that sweltering June day, the assignment was one of our most memorable ones.”
“We were led by U.S. Geological Survey scientists Jillian Josimovich and Austin Fitzgerald, and National Park Service Resource Manager Matthew McCollister. We used a radio telemetry antenna to find the approximate location of one of the scout snakes, named Charlie 5.”
“We hiked across muhly grass meadows in the flatwoods and through palmettos and pine scrub. Fitzgerald eventually found the scout snake in a low, swampy spot filled with 4-foot-tall alligator flag. How he spied the tip of the snake’s snout, I’ll never know.”