UFC icon Joe Rogan sheds light on the Burmese Python invasion of Florida with guest in recent JRE episode
In episode 1972 of JRE, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan discussed the invasion of Burmese Python in the state of Florida with comedian Jim Breuer. According to the US Geological Survey, the population of Burmese Pythons exploded in just 20 years.
Burmese Python's population went from just a few snakes at the southern tip of the Everglades National Park to invading almost a third of the state of Florida. Pythons from South East Asia were part of the exotic pet trade in 1980s. However, many snakes escaped a research facility that was devastated by a storm in 1992, leading researchers to attribute the explosion of python populations to this incident.
Here's what Joe Rogan said to Jim Breuer about the invasive species:
"The whole thing is weird that they allowed those as exotic pets, and then these people just let them go in the swamp. Apparently that's only a part of the problem, though I thought that that was the whole problem. Another part of the problem was that there was a wildlife research facility where they were studying pythons. And somehow, or another, it got destroyed in a storm and the pythons got out."
Skip to 2:40 for Joe Rogan's thoughts on the Python invasion in Florida:
The research facility in question was hit by Hurricane Andrew - a category 5 storm - in 1992. According to an article by The History Channel, the destruction of the research facility was one of the leading causes of the Burmese Python invasion.
Joe Rogan on the visciousness of chimpanzees
It's no secret that Joe Rogan is an admirer of the natural world. He has had many wildlife conservationists and ecological experts on his show, discussing animals ranging from bears and tigers, to chimpanzees and gorillas.
If you were to watch a video clip of an episode of JRE on YouTube, you'd have heard the familiar cackle of an ape followed by a female automated voice saying, "The Joe Rogan Experience". Rogan also has kettlebelts, manufactured by his company Onnit, in the shape of various ape faces.
In an episode of his podcast with comedian Anthony Jeselnik, the veteran UFC commentator discussed the visciousness of chimpanzees. Here's what he said:
"You see that viscious jealousy in chimpanzees. Like, one of the things that chimpanzees do when they attack people - one of the things that they attack people over is unfairness. Like, there was a terrible story of a guy that kept a pet chimp, and he brought the chimp a birthday cake. And the other chimps found out that this chimp is getting a birthday cake, and they saw it, and they weren't getting any cake. And they were f*****g furious."
Rogan continued:
"Someone had inadvertently left one of the gates open, so the chimps got out and tore this guy apart - because of a birthday cake."