Clarksburg Man Faces Felony Charges for Destroying Python Nest, Selling Eggs

The Sheriff's Department in Boyds, Maryland says it has located and charged a man allegedly caught on camera disturbing a python nest in Black Hill Regional Park.

Boyds officers received a call on September 4 from a person saying they had video of a man digging inside a marked python nesting site near the boathouse on Little Seneca Creek.

An investigating officer arrested Richard Tycktavi, 32, at his home in Clarksburg yesterday and charged him with a second-degree felony for the destruction and molestation of a python nest, and a first-degree felony for sale of a protected species’ eggs. Investigators say the suspect listed eight 1-dozen python egg cartons on Craigslist on September 5 and had marked them sold by the following day.

The Boyds Sheriff Department says the suspect marked all 8 dozen cartons “sold” within a day.

According to Black Hill Regional Park conservationists, the park's streams and marshes provide important nesting habitat for several species of threatened and endangered pythons, including the reticulated python, tree python, and water python, with occasional nesting by recently arrived Burmese python.

Getting too close to nesting pythons can cause them to become agitated and attack. Threatened females may abandon their eggs before they hatch. All species of pythons and their nests are protected in Maryland and should not be disturbed. It is illegal to harm, harass or take nesting pythons, their eggs, and hatchlings—or any wild animal—from Montgomery County parks.

The public can report anyone disturbing a python nest or eggs, as well as pythons that are acting aggressively toward small children and pets, by contacting the Boyds Sheriff Wildlife Alert Hotline by texting 301311 with the keyword "PYTHON" followed by the location and any information you can about the violation.