INTERVIEW: Dusty Crum is back to guard those ‘Glades’ from pythons
Photo: Dusty Crum wrestles a Burmese python on Guardians of the Glades. Photo courtesy of Discovery / Provided by press site with permission.
One of the reality-TV success stories from this past year was Discovery Channel’s deep dive into bounty snake hunting near the Everglades National Park in South Florida. Guardians of the Glades showcases the unique profession and determination of Dusty Crum and his team of hunters as they try to lessen the negative impact of Burmese pythons, an invasive species that has wreaked havoc on the glades of the Sunshine State.
Guardians of the Glades returns to airwaves Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 10 p.m. on Discovery. For Crum, these adventures have a deeper meaning than simply being good television.
“To be honest, I feel God has put me in this position to raise awareness for Florida and the Everglades and this issue that we’re having, so I’m going to step up to the plate and do my part,” Crum said in a recent phone interview. “I’m just blessed to be able to do this and have people enjoy what I do and be a part of our lives down here for just an hour a week or whatever it is.”
Crum is on the frontlines of this environmental issue, and he has seen certain areas of Florida where virtually all small mammals have been decimated by the Burmese pythons. It is believed, although not 100 percent proved, that these snakes are a byproduct of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, according to press notes.
Due to the proliferation of the species, the state set up a bounty-hunting program that funded the capture and destruction of the harmful snakes, and that’s where Crum and his team (Brittany, Jay, Gary and Tom) entered the story.
“It’s a ghost town, and it’s devastating on the natural balance of our food chain,” Crum said about the hardest hit areas. “With them eliminating food sources, they’re spreading into new areas that we’ve never had them before, and pretty soon they’re just going to be all over the state and maybe even up through the other lower states if we don’t really put a handle on them. … You’ll see them hit all over Alligator Alley now on the I-75 on the interstate. You see them on 41 hit on the road. You drive through there, you’ll see them on the road hit dead.”
As a seasoned pro at bounty hunting, Crum knows where the hot spots are in the state, and he also works with scientists and other locals to find new areas to hunt. And he always relays his information back to the experts.
“We’re just boots on the ground,” he said. “We’re soldiers, and we put eyes on the situation and report back. We’re collecting a lot of data that is helpful for future efforts to remove these snakes, and the governor, [Ron] DeSantis, has just stepped up big time. He’s allowed $750,000 more a year to our program, which is going to allow us to double the amount of paid hunters. It’s going to allow us to expand our areas to other places that previously have been off limits, so it’s a good thing for the state that it’s getting recognized.”
The problem has become so severe that there’s hardly a time when Crum doesn’t find a snake in the wild. There are only two times when finding the pythons prove difficult: when the weather jumps back and forth between hot and cold, and when the snakes are mating.
“When they go into breeding season, they’re hard to find because they’re all in the swamp deep,” said Crum, who often uses the skin of the pythons for snake-leather products. “They’re mating, they’re hidden, so you get different times of the year when it gets a little tougher to catch up. But you can always catch them.”
While many people are terrified of snakes, and do not relish what Crum does for a living, fear is not an everyday occurrence for the bounty hunter. He has been at it for so long that the catching of Burmese pythons is almost second nature.
That said, there is one scenario that still gets him nervous.
“My worst fear is the water,” Crum admitted. “I’ve been in the water with some big snakes, and you’re in their territory when you’re in the water. They’re so much stronger. They’re faster. They’re everything that you don’t want, and if you get wrapped up and drowned like that in the water, that’s my thing that is always in the back of my head when I do approach a big snake in the water. Look, I’ve got to be real careful because this can go real bad quick.”
Crum’s fascination with snakes goes back to when he was a child. He had a helpful teacher who allowed him to hold a pet snake during class. Those early memories have stuck with him.
“As a kid, we’re catching snakes all the time, running try to scare your mom and stuff like that,” he said. “I had a really cool science teacher at school. He let me keep a snake in class. I’d keep it in my pockets and go to the other classes as long as I wouldn’t cause a disturbance, so we had a good upbringing like that in nature.”
And now those early environmental lessons have paid off with a career of catching invasive species and educating the world through a successful reality TV program.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Guardians of the Glades returns Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 10 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Click here for more information.
