Pet owners aren't responsible for this one.

[google.com]

@JimG

In the CBS video, the narrator said "The first Lionfish was probably dumped from Florida fish tank."

@LiterateHiker Sorry, I was only commenting on the snake. I'm at work and couldn't watch the video.

@JimG They bred from pet snakes illegally released. Did you catch that?

The article contradicts itself a little with this: "Burmese pythons let loose by Andrew's destruction have flourished in the southern Florida ecosystem, decimating local species in the process." It's really unlikely that sporadic releases of individual snakes would establish a self-sustaining population. However a breeding population had already been established in Florida, and those snakes escaped during hurricane Andrew. The population exploded after that. There were pythons prior to that, but not in the numbers found after Andrew.

@JimG surprised you think it's unlikely that those sporadic releases could establish a population. I really don't understand your position. Have you a biology degree?

@Serenityseeker No, I don't have a degree in biology, but my belief is more statistically based. Releases of individual animals over a large area over decades would make it unlikely that they would encounter potential mates, unless the numbers are much larger than would seem likely. That verses the large numbers of that species that escaped from the same location in a short period of time, makes it statistically much more likely that the breeding snakes came from that population. I'm also basing my belief somewhat on the increased number of encounters after Andrew, which I admit could also in part be due to an increased awareness of the problem making people more likely to report them.