I hate snakes. Let's get that out in the open right now.

And I really don't like the idea of giant, Southeast Asian pythons roaming around free in the Everglades, let loose because some guy decided he couldn't handle it for a pet.

Case in point: Look what happens to alligators when pythons are in their territory! Remember the photo at right (courtesy of the National Park service) ??!!!!

Aside from the rant about responsible pet ownership, we're looking at a serious problem. So bad, that wildlife officials are training their staff on how to capture the snakes.

But we came across the invasion situation last year, which lent itself to a News Illustrated from my colleague Renee Kwok. Her main focus is that if something is not done about these Burmese pythons, then their populations can spread throughout the southern United States. Can you imagine a python in the sewers of Los Angeles?

So check out the above Flash multimedia gallery that I put together. It has great video from Angela Sachitano about the training wildlife officials. And it showcases the two main features from Renee's page. Pay particular attention to the one about the eggs — you just know it's waiting to be the next Snakes On A Plane!