The HuntFishTravel Podcast Episode #251 – Hunting Giants: Amy Siewe, The Python Huntress, on Battling an Invasive Predator in the Florida Everglades

In this episode of the HuntFishTravel Podcast, I sit down with Amy Siewe, better known as The Python Huntress.

Amy is a professional python hunter working on the front lines of conservation in Florida, helping remove one of the most destructive invasive species in North America. We talk about how she went from real estate broker to full-time python hunter, what it’s actually like to hunt massive snakes in the wild, and why this work is so critical to protecting native wildlife in the Everglades.

We dive deep into how Burmese pythons ended up in Florida in the first place, the impact they’ve had on native mammals and ecosystems, what a real python hunt looks like, from spotlighting roads at night to catching snakes by hand, the largest python Amy has ever caught and a wild story to go with it, and how python hunting ties directly into scientific research and conservation.

This episode is fascinating, intense, occasionally jaw-dropping (I probably said “bananas” way too many times to count), and deeply rooted in responsible conservation. Amy’s respect for wildlife and the Everglades comes through loud and clear and I walked away with a whole new understanding of just how serious the python problem really is.

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Learn more or book a hunt: pythonhuntress.com
Follow Amy’s adventures: @thepythonhuntress on Instagram and @pythonhuntress on Facebook.

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Timestamps:

• 00:00 – 01:24 – Opening intro & setting the Everglades scene
• 01:24 – 02:37 – Meet Amy Siewe, The Python Huntress
• 02:37 – 04:05 – How Amy became a professional python hunter
• 04:05 – 05:48 – From thrill-seeking to conservation mission
• 05:48 – 07:16 – How Burmese pythons invaded Florida
• 07:16 – 08:47 – Population explosion & lack of predators
• 08:47 – 10:22 – How big pythons get (and how dangerous they could be)
• 10:22 – 12:18 – What pythons eat & ecosystem collapse
• 12:18 – 14:17 – Why the Everglades are the perfect python habitat
• 14:17 – 15:55 – How python hunts actually work
• 15:55 – 16:18 – Catching pythons by hand
• 16:18 – 17:30 – Spotting snakes at night
• 17:30 – 24:46 – The 17-foot, 110-pound python story
• 24:46 – 26:39 – Why live capture is necessary
• 26:39 – 29:07 – Research, data, and working with biologists
• 29:07 – 30:44 – Hair-raising moments in the field
• 30:44 – 31:39 – Licensing, legality, and invasive species rules
• 31:39 – 33:29 – Ethics, conservation, and respecting wildlife
• 33:29 – 35:25 – Booking a hunt & following Amy online
• 35:25 – 36:03 – Final thoughts & wrap-up