I'll go to the Rockies but I'm afraid of heights.
Usually, you don't put a comma before "but".
I'll assume that "batted" is the word that should be italicised, in which case, playful would be the adjective.
In a sentence, it would look like:
The kitten batted at the cord to the vertical blinds in a playful manner. <span />
Answer:
Native to Asia, Burmese pythons now occupy wild and suburban area of Florida in growing numbers.
