It has been 12 years since the first reports of giant Burmese pythons invading the Everglades came pouring in, something that most people made light of back in the day. But now, scientists have taken measurements of the real impact this voracious species has made on the local ecosystem and the news is quite troubling.

In areas where the invasive pythons have established themselves, marsh rabbits and foxes can no longer be found. Raccoon sightings are down 99 percent, and opossums and white-tailed deer are few and far between, according to findings reported in Monday´s edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Scientists say the “severe declines” in the population of small and mid-sized native mammals in the 1.5-million-acre