Taylor Stanberry nabs record 60 snakes to win Florida’s 2025 python challenge

Taylor Stanberry has been crowned as the winner of the annual python challenge after lacerating dozens of the invasive species, and the first woman to earn a place in the competition while breaking all records.

She stood first after wrangling about 60 snakes during the 10-day competition in the Everglades located in South Florida.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has granted her a $10,000 prize on her remarkable achievement.

In conversation with Fox News, Taylor said, “I hunted every day from sundown to sunup looking for pythons.”

She further explained, “It was tiring but so worth it to save the native species here in Florida and to take home the title of the first female Ultimate Grand Prize Winner.”

This year was a grand competition, as it broke all records by incorporating 294 invasive Burmese pythons-which are significantly considered a significant threat to the ecosystem, not native to the area but developed a breeding population which affects wildlife.

While 900 participants from the United States and Canada have accepted the challenge in south Florida’s swampland.

The Chairman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) shed light on the success of this competition stating, “The 2025 Florida Python Challenge can go in the books as a success, thanks to the hard work of staff, generous support from our partners and continued leadership of Governor's DeSantis and involvement of the many competitors in this year’s event.”

The competition invites professional snakes to Florida’s Everglades in an attempt to cut down on the non-indigenous species harming the state’s wildlife. The challenge was to trap and humanely kill each snake.

Taylor said, “Not only because I work hard daily to save the Everglades and the native species that call the Evergaldes home, but also because there are tons of other hardworking hunters out there and many of them are amazing female contractors.”