How 'robo bunnies' could weed out pythons from the Everglades

Wildlife biologists in Florida have a new tool in the fight to remove Burmese pythons from the Everglades: robotic rabbits.

Forty of the furry robo creatures were deployed by researchers this summer in an effort to fight a python invasion in Everglades National Park.

Mike Kirkland, the lead invasive animal biologist for the South Florida Water Management District, says up to 95% of all fur-bearing animals in Everglades National Park and the surrounding natural areas have disappeared because of the snakes.

Enter the "robo bunny." What looks like an ordinary stuffed animal is retrofitted with technology that allows it to move, smell and even replicate the heat signature of a live rabbit.

The researchers are hopeful the robots will fool pythons and lure the reptiles out of hiding so they can be humanely removed. Kirkland wants the researchers' efforts to be known as a native animal saving program. “Even though they're causing ecological destruction, this is a living animal and needs to be respected as such," he said.

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