Florida residents are no strangers to invasive reptiles, from the iguanas that fall out of trees in the winter, to the Burmese Pythons slithering through the Everglades. However, one species has been dubbed by the USGS as the largest, most dangerous invasive lizard in all of Florida — as well as the United States. And that species is V. niloticus: the Nile monitor.

The FWC's Python Action Team – Removing Invasive Constrictors (PATRIC) program, which began in 2017, has removed a record-setting number of invasive Burmese Pythons from Florida’s Everglades, in part because of a new partnership with Miami-based company Inversa.

A woman won $10,000 on Wednesday after removing 60 Burmese Pythons from the Everglades in the 2025 Florida Python Challenge.