Michael Kordsmeier is a mild-mannered Clark Kent figure by day – and a python hunter called “Uncle Crocodile” at night.
The Python Challenge will wrap up soon in the Florida Everglades – and Kordsmeier is one unique hunter who has been out several times in search of the pesky snake, maneuvering through all of the brush and muck with a small flashlight in hand.
He may look like your typical snake hunter, with a few guns and tools to help him with his pursuit, but you might be surprised by his day job.
Kordsmeier works as a nuclear medicine technologist, playing a part in saving lives at Community Health of South Florida.
"For the three weeks it's been going on, we've been out here 17 days," Kordsmeier said as NBC 6 tagged along on one of his nightly hunts in the Everglades in southwest Miami-Dade.
Fifty Burmese pythons have been harvested so far in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Python Challenge, organizers said Tuesday. The contest concludes Sunday.
As Kordsmeier worked his way deep into the brush, he looked carefully for any sign of the python. He also warned to watch out for other snakes other than the pythons that may be hiding deep in the brush.
Senator Nelson Goes on Python Hunting Expedition Into Everglades
Even though he's in the corporate world by day, Kordsmeier gets a kick out of hunting pythons.
"My nephew in northwest Arkansas calls me Uncle Crocodile and he's five years old and he just eats all of this stuff up, but I have been catching snakes since I was a little kid," Kordsmeier said.
And even though it’s rare to catch a python, that makes no difference for Kordsmeier.
"During the day, I have to be a mild, meek-mannered Clark Kent,” he said. “Then at night I can turn into Uncle Crocodile.”
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Photo Credit: NBC 6 South Florida