Got a deadly python on your property? You’re going to need Trapper Mike, aka the Python Cowboy. Mike – officially Mike Kimmel – runs and operates Martin County Trapping & Wildlife Rescue. As his nickname suggests, he’s legendary for his ability to find and catch pythons and other invasive or dangerous species.
Mike Kimmel is a social media personality and professional wildlife hunter, consultant, and rescuer. If you’ve seen a TikTok clip or YouTube short of a man pulling a python from under a car or tossing around a snake, that’s Mike – America’s answer to Crocodile Dundee.
As a walking, talking incarnation of ‘Florida Man,’ Mike has racked up an impressive social media following on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube (@pythoncowboy). With his popularity going viral, the Python Cowboy found his way onto the king of all podcasts – the Joe Rogan Experience episode #2020, enthralling Joe Rogan with tales of satanic rituals, giant pythons, and abandoned space rocket facilities – it’s a wild ride!
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How Did Trapper Mike Get Famous
Kimmel isn’t some fake social media personality – he’s the real deal. He’s a licensed wildlife trapper of invasive and dangerous species, a contracted python hunter (which is a legitimate job!), and founder and owner of Martin County Trapping and Wildlife Rescue.
Scroll through Trapper Mike’s Instagram, and it’s not hard to see why he got famous. You’ll find more reptiles than in Jurassic Park. And it’s not just pythons. As a keen wildlife expert, he shows off iguanas, water buffalo, wild boars, deer, alligators, and even meerkats. There are also plenty of stunning photos of his helpful pooches (including his sidekick ‘Moose’).
But they don’t call him the Python Cowboy for no reason – his specialty is finding and hunting invasive and pesky snakes threatening people’s lives and animals. He doesn’t just waste the carcass, however. Over on his Python Cowboy website, you can buy custom leather wallets made from either python or iguana skin.
Where Does Trapper Mike Live?
Based in Martin County, Florida, just north of West Palm Beach, he lives and works right in the heart of Florida’s swamps and waterways – think the Florida Everglades. Despite his fame, Mike serves a fundamental purpose – he’s the go-to service for all manner of animal removals and rescues. According to his company’s Facebook page, he offers:
- Iguana Removal
- Wildlife Rescue
- Raccoon or Possum Removal
- Hog Removal
- Snake Removal
- Deer Removal
- Coyote, Bobcat, or Fox Removal
He always removes the animals using the most humane methods possible – usually a suppressed rifle, by hand, or a suppressed small caliber pistol.
What Does Trapper Mike Do For Fun?
Confucius, the Chinese philosopher, coined the phrase, “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Two millennia later, it appears Trapper Mike is living proof. He’s never happier than when he’s out in the wild looking for trouble.
At least, that seems to be the case, given the sheer number of videos of Mike engaging in the ancient Florida art of python-wrangling. If you could ride a python at a rodeo, Mike would probably give it a go. Although, he’s nobody’s fool – and often advises people on how best to manage invasive species on their property.
Of course, he also enjoys living and working with his dog, Moose. Previously, one of his hunting dogs, he found that Moose had a special skill: he was a master of python hunting. Taking his pooch out one day, he let him help find pythons after three luckless days. Moose found two pythons on his first day!
They’ve been a tight team ever since. Working like a bird dog, Moose finds the python, and Mike comes and takes it out.
Mike is also passionate about removing invasive species. It’s easy to judge Mike’s killing and removal of pythons, iguanas, and other species. However, he’s not doing it just for the sake of it. The Africa Rock Python, Burmese Python, and Green Iguana are invasive species in Florida, damaging, and degrading the natural ecosystem.
Burmese Pythons, in particular, have led to severe declines in mammalian populations (including raccoons, opossums, bobcats, rabbits, and foxes) and can compete (or even eat) with the native American alligator.
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Trapper Mike on the Joe Rogan Experience
Trapper Mike combines crazy social media clips of animals with a love of the outdoors. Of course, he had to appear on Joe Rogan. In episode #2020, he amazes Rogan with some of his craziest stories. Whether that’s exploring the reason behind Florida’s python problem or recounting the time a 17-foot python bit him. As he joked, “I think I’ve been ‘Florida Man’ quite a few times”.
Perhaps the most startling clip is the mystery of satanic rituals deep in the swamplands. While hunting pythons at an abandoned space rocket facility (from the Cold War era), Mike happened upon a satanic ritual ground, complete with pentagrams, Latin markings (which read “Go, Turn Around. He Is Watching You”), blood stains, and upside down crosses. There was even scribbling on the walls alluding to child sacrifice.
So bizarre and horrifying were his findings that the police were later called to investigate the scene. No further evidence was ever brought to light.
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