Informational (nonfiction), 1,467 words, Level X (Grade 5), Lexile 1030L
What weighs 150 pounds, is sixteen feet long, and can swallow a small deer whole? The answer is a Burmese python, and it may live closer to you than you think. Burmese pythons are native to India and South Asia . . . so what are they doing in Florida? The introduction of this invasive species has already upset the fragile ecosystem of the Florida Everglades. Now scientists are trying to figure out how to stop them from spreading any farther.