Tom Rahill wrestled a 17-foot python in the Everglades in July, just months after two hip replacements. His doctors told him to stay home. He went anyway.

The 69-year-old Lutz resident captured 96 invasive Burmese pythons during the 2026 Florida Python Challenge, which ran July 10-19 across South Florida. That haul earned him the $10,000 Ultimate Grand Prize and set a new all-time individual record for the competition, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced Wednesday, Aug. 5, at its meeting in Panama City Beach.

The previous record was 60 pythons, set in 2025 by Taylor Stanberry. Rahill beat that mark by 36 snakes.

"I was on a mission to get one of our veterans a big snake," Rahill said at the Aug. 5 meeting, according to the Naples Daily News. "I did it. And we wrestled this thing. That was the mission. To get him a big snake — it was a 17-foot female. The veteran was just over the moon."

Once that mission was complete, Rahill said he pushed deeper into the Everglades. All 96 of his pythons came from Everglades National Park.

Swamp Apes and veteran mentorship

Rahill founded Swamp Apes, a nonprofit that takes military veterans and first responders on python hunts as nature-based therapy, in 2008. The organization currently serves about 30 veterans with free programming and has helped remove more than 1,000 pythons from South Florida over the years.

Rahill is also a contractor for the South Florida Water Management District's python removal program. He previously won 2020 Florida Python Challenge prizes for the longest and heaviest pythons.

He told the Palm Beach Post his doctors warned him against competing after his hip surgeries, but he went out anyway to help a veteran catch a big snake. Rahill said he plans to put the $10,000 back into Swamp Apes and celebrate his and his wife's 45th wedding anniversary.

A record year despite tough conditions

The 10-day competition drew 907 participants from 30 states, Canada and Vietnam. Together they removed 280 Burmese pythons, slightly below the 2025 record of 294. Organizers attributed the dip to drought, wildfires and thunderstorms that suppressed snake movement across South Florida.

Burmese pythons are an invasive species devastating native wildlife in the Everglades. A single female can lay 50 to 100 eggs at a time. Since 2000, nearly 28,000 wild Burmese pythons have been removed from Florida, according to the FWC.

FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto called the 2026 results a major victory for the state's native wildlife, crediting strong partnerships and public participation.

How to help

Residents can report Burmese python sightings year-round through the FWC's Invasive Species Hotline at 888-483-4681 or the free IveGot1 smartphone app. Pythons may also be humanely killed on private land with the owner's permission, no permit required.

What's ahead

No dates for the 2027 Florida Python Challenge have been announced. Residents interested in Swamp Apes' veteran python-hunting program can learn more at swampapes.org.