Hybrid Man-Eating Pythons? Florida Is on Alert.

Atlanta - In an case of real life imitating Hollywood, the US scientific community is increasingly concerned that two nonnative python breeds currently slithering free in south Florida could morph into a giant man-eating swamp coil.

A 9 1/2 foot long Burmese python was captured in the Florida Everglades as part of a three-month...

A 9 1/2 foot long Burmese python was captured in the Florida Everglades as part of a three-month hunt approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission intending to reduce the number of the nonnative species, is seen in this July 2009 file photo. In an case of real life imitating Hollywood, the US scientific community is increasingly concerned that two nonnative python breeds currently slithering free in south Florida could morph into a giant man-eating swamp coil.

(Mike Stocker/Sun-Sentinel/MCT)

The capture of five African rock pythons recently near an Everglades already teeming with the gentler Burmese pythons has scientists worried about so-called "hybrid vigor" – a phenomenon that occurs when interbreeding uncorks volatile recessive genes, passing traits such as aggression onto the offspring. Think Africanized bees.

The two species have interbred in captivity. While Burmese pythons aren't known to eat people in their native habitat, the African rock python, unfortunately, has been known to do just that.

The rock python "is mean right out of the egg, and they don't ever tame down," says Kenneth Krysko, a senior biologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Related

HEAR: Emotional 911 Call in Deadly Python Attack

Pet Python Strangles Toddler in Her Bed

WATCH: Chilling 911 Call in Deadly Python Attack

Whether African rock pythons and Burmese pythons could produce fertile offspring remains a big question. But the looming possibility of "hybrid vigor" between nonnative species means the Everglades are turning into a herpetologist's version of Dr. Frankenstein's lab.

Expert: Everglades Turning into a 'Big Petri Dish'

"It's a big petri dish," says Kevin Enge, an invasive species expert with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in Gainesville. "You keep introducing things and, yeah, you don't know what's going to turn out."

This summer, Florida began a python bounty hunt after the population of illegally introduced Burmese pythons exploded and their range expanded. So far, 18 snakes have been captured under the new hunt, which got approval from the US Department of Interior after a toddler was killed by a released python this spring.

Critics including Mr. Krysko say that the state is not doing enough to crack down on those who release snakes against the law. But Mr. Enge says the law is basically "unenforceable" since it's practically impossible to catch people in the act.

Moreover, lawmakers have for years tried to ban exotics, but the rare pet industry, much of which is based out of Miami, is a powerful economic force that has so far held off efforts at import reform.