March 20-26, 2014, Current Events Lesson Plan
Current Event:
Scientists recently announced that giant Burmese pythons have a magnetic sense that directs them “home” over large distances. To study how these invasive predators migrate and spread, scientists captured and relocated 12 pythons in Florida’s Everglades National Park. The huge snakes were fitted with GPS radio transmitters. Half were released where they were captured; the other half was transported to other areas in the park–13 to 23 miles (21 to 36 kilometers) from where they were captured. Using aircraft to track their movements, the scientists were amazed to discover that 5 of the 6 pythons in the second group quickly returned to within 3 miles (5 kilometers) of the place where they had been captured. The Burmese python, a native of Southeast Asia, has become established in the Everglades chiefly as a result of people dumping unwanted pet pythons. One of the largest snakes in the world, the python can grow more than 15 feet (4.5 meters) long and weigh in excess of 160 pounds (72.5 kilograms). The snakes coil around a prey animal and suffocate it. Pythons have been known to kill and swallow adult alligators and have been blamed for a staggering decline in the numbers of native mammals in the Everglades, including bobcats, marsh rabbits, opossums, and raccoons.
Everglades National Park, in the Florida Everglades, has a major problem with invasive species, including the giant Burmese python (National Park Service).
Objective:
Snakes are animals with a long, legless body covered in dry scales. To move about on land, a snake usually slides on its belly. Like other reptiles, snakes are cold-blooded. The body of a cold-blooded animal stays about the same temperature as its surroundings. Snakes live on every continent except Antarctica. They inhabit deserts, forests, oceans, streams, and lakes. There are thousands of species of snakes. The largest snakes are the green anaconda of South America, the reticulated python of Southeast Asia, and the African rock python. All three can reach nearly 30 feet (9 meters) long. Some snakes can inject venom through their fangs when they bite. About 15 percent of all snake species have venom that is harmful or fatal to human beings. However, snakes bite people relatively rarely, and most snakebites cause only minor injuries. The Behind the Headlines news story and related World Book articles explore pythons and other snakes.
Words to know:
Discussion Topics:
1. Ask your students to name other species of snakes besides pythons. (They may say anacondas, asps, boa constrictors, cobras, mambas, rattlesnakes, vipers.)
2. Ask your students to debate, “What should be the legal penalty for people caught introducing invasive species into a habitat?”
3. Ask your students to debate, “It should be illegal for people to own pythons or other dangerous animals as pets.”
4. Ask your students which animal they think is the most dangerous to humans. (The world’s deadliest animal, by a landslide, is the mosquito, which transmits malaria and other diseases. Some people estimate that mosquitoes kill from 1 to 3 million people each year, mainly in Africa and Asia.)
