
Donna Kalil slowly makes her way through thick grass as she hunts for pythons on Thursday, March 30, in Homestead, Florida. She was among a group working to rid Everglades National Park and surrounding areas of the non-native species of pythons that eats vegetation and preys on wildlife.

Kalil shows off the skin of a python she found in a previous hunt. "They're everywhere at every time," she says. "It's just a luck of the draw."

Before heading to her next hunting spot, Kalil chats with fellow python hunter Tom Rahill.

Along with a pistol and knife, Kalil carries a Venezuelan cowboy stick with her on the hunt.

Kalil presses on as the afternoon sun gets warmer. "It's like a python fever," she says. "You don't want to give up until you find one."

Kalil sports snake earrings during the hunt.

Animal trails wind through the grass in Homestead.

Kalil cools off at the edge of a canal. Not only is the heat constant, hunters have to be wary of poison ivy and potentially dangerous wildlife.


