Florida’s annual python hunt in the Everglades will run Aug. 9-18, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez announced Thursday morning at a news conference in Miami-Dade County.

Burmese Pythons are an invasive species that pose a threat to wildlife in the Everglades. Florida pays hunters annually to catch the snakes. State-approved hunters can win up to $25,000 this year, Nuñez said at the news conference outside the S-365 Pump Station along U.S. Highway 441 outside Homestead.

The Burmese python is one of the largest snakes in the world and is nonvenomous.  Adult snakes caught in Florida average between 6 feet and 9 feet, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The largest captured in Florida was more than 18 feet.

Longest pythons and the most caught will net prizes

Prizes will be awarded for longest or most snakes caught, she said.

To register for the Florida Python Challenge, go to FLPythonChallenge.org.

More: How cold does it need to be to kill Florida’s iguanas and Burmese pythons?

Last year’s hunt caught 209 snakes.

The prize was $10,000.

Chris Persaud is the data reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at cpersaud@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Everglades python hunt set for August. The prize had been jacked up