The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s pilot python hunting season, which began in July and ended on Oct. 31, was deemed a success with 37 non-native Burmese pythons killed.

Only 15 permits were issued to snake experts, and the commission hopes to up the number of permits to 50 next year.

Burmese pythons owners sometimes release their pets into the wild once it gets too big. With no natural predators, Burmese pythons are taking over southern Florida at a rapid rate and disrupting the ecosystem. Constrictors can produce up to 100 eggs at a time according to the Miami Herald.

More than half the pythons killed were juveniles indicating the pythons are reproducing and thriving in the wild.

“This was more about finding where they are and seeing if we can contain their expansion,'' Scott Hardin, FWC exotic species coordinator, said Tuesday.

Licensed hunters may continue to shoot the invasive species in designated areas such as the Big Cypress National Preserve.

“If you're in there hunting, and you see a python, you can kill it,'' Hardin confirmed.