In a move mocked nationwide, Florida wildlife officials released hundreds of African honey badgers into the Everglades to combat a devastating invasive species crisis. Critics laughed, calling the plan reckless and doomed to fail.
Florida faced a severe environmental problem in the Everglades: the Burmese python, a non-native constrictor species. Introduced to the region through the exotic pet trade and released into the wild, the snakes found ideal conditions in the swamp and multiplied rapidly. Over time, they depleted much of the native wildlife, with some mammal populations declining by more than 90 percent in parts of…