In the humid, sawgrass-laden expanse of the Florida Everglades, a new kind of predator has emerged to hunt the hunters. While they appear to be ordinary marsh rabbits, these creatures are actually sophisticated robotic decoys designed to solve a “detection crisis” that has allowed the invasive Burmese python to decimate Florida’s native wildlife.
For decades, the python has remained a biological ghost, using its near-perfect camouflage to evade even the most experienced specialized teams. “Removing them is fairly simple. It’s detection, we’re having a really hard time finding them,” said Mike Kirkland, lead invasive animal biologist for the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD).
Despite their massive size, reaching lengths of up to 16 feet (about 5m), these snakes are so elusive that officials estimate only about one to three specimens are detected for every 100 present in the ecosystem.
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This staggering invisibility has allowed the population to explode, with some estimates suggesting tens of thousands of snakes now inhabit the southern Florida ecosystem, where they have caused reductions of up to 95% in small mammal populations and severe declines among native birds.
To counter this, the South Florida Water Management District and the University of Florida have pioneered a biomimetic solution through a fleet of roughly 120 robotic rabbits. These devices, which cost approximately $4,000 each, are not merely visual replicas; they are engineered to exploit the specific sensory vulnerabilities of the Burmese python.
Scientists have retrofitted these robotic rabbits with internal heaters to mimic the thermal signature of a warm-blooded mammal, solar-powered motors to replicate the kinetic twitching of a living rabbit, and aroma diffusers that release synthetic scents to trigger the snake’s olfactory responses. This multi-sensory approach is designed to provoke a hunting strike from adult pythons, which are the primary drivers of the species’ rapid reproduction — a single female can lay between 50 and 100 eggs per clutch.
The deployment of these “cyber-bunnies” marks a significant shift from traditional, labor-intensive methods toward a more scalable, tech-driven conservation model. Previously, officials experimented with live rabbits as lures, but the strategy proved too expensive and operationally complex to maintain.
The current robotic iterations are placed within small, monitored pens and can be switched on or off remotely to conserve energy. Each unit is paired with a camera-based monitoring system that alerts biologists the moment a python is detected. Once a strike or approach is confirmed, contractors are dispatched to the exact location to humanely remove the snake. This real-time detection loop addresses the “needle in a haystack” problem that has long plagued eradication efforts.
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While the project is currently in its infancy, having been deployed in force during the summer of 2025, Kirkland noted, “We’re confident, though, that this will work once we are given enough time to work out some of these details.” The primary goal is to increase the detection rate enough to protect the remaining native species and restore some semblance of balance to the Everglades food web.
By turning technology against an invasive species that has no natural predators in the region, Florida is betting on robotics to save one of the world’s most unique ecosystems. The success of the program could eventually serve as a blueprint for using biomimetic robotics to manage invasive species in other fragile environments across the globe.
Sources: University of Florida – Biology, AP News, El Tiempo