Discover How Robotic Rabbits are Combating a Serious Threat in Florida

Florida is rolling out a new program to help combat the rise of invasive pythons in the state.

The strange part, though? It’ll be based around robotic rabbits.

That’s according to Mike Kirkland, the lead invasive animal biologist for the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD).

Kirkland shared insights with News 6 on Wednesday about a program called the “Lures Project.” This initiative aims to draw pythons out of concealment, concentrating them in areas where removal is simpler.

“Our main obstacle with the python problem is detection, which led us to initially use live rabbits in the project’s first phase,” he noted. “These rabbits were housed in pens with provisions such as food, shelter, water, and toys, all while adhering to strict standards of animal care.”

Per Kirkland, these rabbits were indeed able to lure pythons, which ventured from their hidey holes to check the rodents out.

However, maintaining live rabbits in this setup proved to be costly in terms of time and resources, prompting a switch to mechanical replicas.

“These are essentially toy rabbits bought on Amazon, with some inherent movement,” said Kirkland. “They have been upgraded with a heat source and additional movement capabilities.”

In addition, Kirkland said the tools will soon be equipped with diffusers to regularly emit “rabbit smells” as a way to better lure out the snakes.

Even though these decoys are not real, they still receive attention. Kirkland informed News 6 that the robotic versions will be placed in field enclosures similar to their living counterparts.

“Surrounding these enclosures are cameras, monitored by an AI detection system we’re working on refining,” he mentioned. “The goal is for the AI-equipped camera to distinguish between pythons and the various native snake species in South Florida.”

From there, Kirkland added, the detection system will alert someone so that a contractor can come out and remove the python.

He also said that during the phase with the live rabbits, there were around 26 different pythons detected in a three-month period, a statistically significant number.

And the team is expecting similar — if not better — results with this program.

For more information on Florida’s Python Elimination Program, click here.