Januari 28, 2017
in the past, tribes deep within the amazonianbasin used to worship anacondas, considering them to be gods and protectors. during the colonization of south america byeuropean nations such as spain, france and portugal, rumors of giant snakes started circulatingamong colonists. these snakes reportedly exceeded 164 feetand had the reputation of being ‘man eaters’. there are currently four identified speciesof anaconda: the yellow or paraguayan anaconda, the beni or bolivian anaconda, the green anacondaand the dark-spotted anaconda. the largest of the four and the one most peoplethink about whenever the term ‘anaconda’ arises in conversation, is the green anaconda.
it is the heaviest and second-longest snakein the world. a non-venomous boa species, this semi-aquaticsnake never stops growing throughout its life. this has proven to be an impediment in determiningits maximum size. many accounts of the green anaconda’s legendaryproportions have not been verified mainly due to the snake’s remote location. reports from publications such as nationalgeographic have credited them with maximum weights of 550 pounds and lengths of almost30 feet. the anaconda is an apex predator, at the topof the food chain in the ecosystem it inhabits. its diet consists of deer, birds, turtles,wild boars and capybara.
they have been known to also consume otherpredators such as jaguars and caimans. there have been reports of cannibalism amongthese snakes with large females sometimes eating the smaller males. anacondas are thicker than other boa snakeswith girths of over 12 inches. they have muscular bodies and thick necks. although narrow, their heads are also large. their eyes and nostrils are placed on thetop of their heads, which allows them to see above water surface, while the rest of theirbody remains completely submerged. a distinctive physical feature is a thickblack stripe between the anaconda’s eye
and its jaw. much like their name would indicate theirskin color may be olive, a greenish brown or a greenish grey. they have small, smooth scales that increasein size towards the lower regions in their bodies. number 4: attack on brazilian tv hostpopular brazilian tv host, toninho negreiro was exploring the amazon rainforest in columbiain order to gather footage for his animal show. on his expedition, negreiro was accompaniedby an experienced guide, nicknamed el diablo,
whom the locals believed to have magical powerover the snakes. as they were exploring the surroundings, eldiablo who was allegedly even able to smell the snakes in order to track down their whereabouts,lead negreiro and his film crew to a green anaconda. the snake was reportedly well over 15 feetlong. it started to coil around el diablo. he handed the snake to negreiro for a briefmoment, before returning it back into the wild. the guide told the film crew that the anacondawas agitated and that it wanted to bite.
while the crew was talking a filming break,negreiro decided to explore the area around their camp. a few minutes later he stumbled upon the greenanaconda that el diablo had shown him before. negreiro attempted to pick it up again. his movements were perceived as a threat bythe already-agitated serpent. the anaconda bit the host on the arm and tookhim down using its massive muscles. negreiro’s screams alerted the crew, whorushed to his aid. they found him on the ground with the snakecoiled around his chest and biting into his bicep.
the recorded footage shows el diablo attemptingto pry open the snake’s jaws in order to release negreiro’s arm. his efforts prove unsuccessful as the anaconda’sbite only sink deeper into the screaming host’s flesh. it eventually took the strength of five peopleto take the serpent off negreiro. despite the traumatic experience and the woundshe received, the brazilian show host returned to film in the amazon only two months later. all anaconda species are located in southamerica, inhabiting the marshes, streams and swamps of tropical rain forests within theamazon and orinoco basins.
their presence has been reported in countriessuch as peru, venezuela, colombia, bolivia, brazil and others. the green anaconda’s scientific name iseunectes murinus. eunectes, derived from greek, can be translatedas ‘good swimmer’ and murinus in latin means ‘of mice’ as it was believed thatit mainly preyed on mice. as its scientific name would suggest, thegreen anaconda is most dangerous around water, where it spends most of its life. its massive size may cause it to appear sluggishand slow while moving around on land but in an aquatic environment this massive snakehas the capacity of reaching high speeds and
unleashing stealthy attacks. it is mainly a nocturnal animal, which meansthat most of its activity, including hunting, takes place during the evening or at night. green anacondas thrive on the humidity, densevegetation and heat of the rainforest. in order to expose their bodies to the sun,these snakes coil around tree branches that are usually hanging over water. they give birth to live young, who instinctivelyknow how to survive in the environment and do not receive any parental care. newborns are typically only between 70 and80 cm long, meaning that they often become
prey for other animals. there have been reports of females being ableto provide offspring through facultative parthenogenesis. this means that they do not require the geneticcontribution of a male in order to provide viable offspring. newborns are usually the result of a self-cloningprocess involving the mother’s genome. this means that a single green anaconda femalehas the theoretical capacity of colonizing an entire territory. green anacondas are not an endangered speciesand their numbers seem stable. the biggest threat they are faced with isloss of habitat with more and more tropical
forest regions being used for timber or inagriculture. number 3: attacks documented by jesus a. rivasjesus a. rivas is a known herpetologists, famous for his work anacondas. having always been passionate about snakesand wildlife, he started ‘the anaconda project’ in 1992, along with some of his friends. rivas based his operation in ilanos, venezuelaas the snakes were easier to catch during the dry season. there are few people who can handle a greenanaconda with their bare hands and rivas is one of them.
he explained “it takes an average of about15-20 minutes of fighting with a snake before it tires to the point of exhaustion. then it becomes easier to handle and morecompliant.†he successfully planted radio transmitterson 38 of the 900 anacondas he had captured during the span of eleven years. the vast majority of the specimens he foundweighed between 80 and 100 pounds. his research has been crucial in understandingmore about the green anaconda. in an article he wrote in 1999, he describedtwo ‘predatory’ attacks. rivas had planted a radio transmitter on afemale green anaconda that had an infection
and released it back into the wild. as one of his research assistants was followingthe radio signal from the transmitter in order to assess the development of the infection,she was attacked. the snake stealthily pounced on her from thewater, grabbing her by the knee. fortunately, her pants tore from the kneedown, and the snake was not able to coil around rivas’ assistant and drag her in the water. in another attack, rivas and one of his assistantswere tracking a green anaconda around an aquatic habitat. the snake flicked its tongue at rivas’ assistantand rose itself above the aquatic vegetation.
rivas managed to catch the snake by its mid-bodysection just as it lunged at his assistant, who promptly moved back. this combination of efforts from the two mencaused the snake to fail in its attack. the female anaconda was thin for its sizeand according to rivas it most likely had given birth earlier that year and was lookingfor a large meal to replenish its energy levels. as is the case with most apex predators, thegreen anaconda has a set of special features which make it extremely dangerous to othercreatures in its environment. although there have not been any confirmedreports to support the green anaconda’s long- standing ‘man-eater’ reputation,large specimens could easily kill and consume
an adult human being. even though it is not a venomous snake, theway in which a green anaconda might kill you offers an even grimmer scenario than beingpoisoned. its teeth are curved inwards, which enablesit to keep hold of its prey. a powerful constrictor, it uses its strongmuscles to coil around its prey. as the snake tightens its grip, bones breaking,severe damage to internal organs and suffocation are among the next possible steps, leadingtowards an almost imminent death. the more you struggle, the stronger the snake’sgrip becomes. overpowering an anaconda is all but impossible.
scientists have recently uncovered the mainreason why the anaconda’s prey dies during constriction. as the large snake squeezes its victim, thecirculatory system becomes overloaded, preventing a sufficient blood supply from reaching thebrain. after killing its prey, the anaconda swallowsit whole. the large ligaments on each side of its mandibleare not fused together and the joints in its jaws are mobile. this gives its bite extreme flexibility allowingthe massive snake to extend its jaw and wrap its mouth around large prey.
after the victim is swallowed, the green anaconda’sbody can change in shape in order to accumulate the ingested content. this happens due to the lack of sternum andstretchy skin. it was once believed that the anaconda couldnot swallow a human because it wouldn’t be able to pass the width of the shoulders. it has since been revealed that anacondasfrequently ingest prey thicker than a human being and that it could easily disarticulatethe joints in the shoulder in order to make the victim less bulky. as the green anaconda typically lives nearwater, death by drowning is another common
outcome for its chosen prey. during the hunt, anacondas make use of theirsenses of sight and smell but they are also reportedly able to detect the body temperatureof their prey. anacondas become vulnerable after a big meal. as their digestive acids work to break downthe meal, the serpents move much slower. if it feels threatened the anaconda will vomitits prey in order to escape any coming danger. after a large meal, the anaconda can go weeksor even months without feeding again. number 2: ‘eaten alive’in a highly anticipated discovery channel special called ‘eaten alive’ 27-year-oldnaturalist paul rosolie attempted to be consumed
by a 20 feet-long, 215 pounds green anaconda. he and a crew of 10 tracked the snake downalong the amazon river. in order to achieve this remarkable feat,rosolie wore an armor-like suit. the suit included a sturdy helmet, platedpadding and a biometric vest with a bluetooth health monitor, so that the crew could observehis vital signs. rosolie then doused himself in pig’s bloodso that he would be more appealing for the he started crawling towards the snake on allfours. the anaconda opened its mouth and latchedon to the top of rosolie’s helmet. it then started to coil around him.
as the snake began to tighten its grip, rosoliesaid that he could feel his arm breaking. he shouted ‘somebody come!’ in order tolet his crew know that he was in danger. they managed to take the snake off him. despite advertising that he would be eatenalive by a green anaconda, rosolie was forced to stop the experiment with just the top ifhis head in the snake’s jaws. rosolie and the discovery channel faced awave of criticism after the airing of ‘eaten alive’. some came from disappointed viewers who hadbeen promised something different than what they had seen.
animal rights organizations were also outraged. peta released a statement saying that “paulrosolie and his crew put this snake through undeniable stress and robbed her of essentialbodily resources. she was forced to constrict and then not allowedto eat.†the naturalist assured the public that thesnake was not harmed in any way during the experiment. rosolie defended the experiment saying “ifthere's a chance this will protect [the amazon], i'll do it. i don't care if you're upset i didn't geteaten by an anaconda.
a, i tried, and b, there's a chance for meto do work with the discovery channel and bang my drum about the dangers, and i'll dothat.†surviving an encounter with a fully-grownadult anaconda is no easy feat. if you are venturing in the amazon junglethere are a few ways of making sure you do not become a meal for these massive predators. when you set-up camp, make sure to choosea site that is farther away from the anaconda’s aquatic habitats. this means opting for dryer surroundings whichare located at a distance from swamps, marshes and slow-moving streams.
anacondas are masters of camouflage and thefact that they hunt at night makes it almost impossible for you to see them coming andthat is why avoiding them all together is the best chance of survival. there have been many schools of thought onhow you should deal with a physical encounter. some suggest that, on land, provided you spotit in time, you could outrun the anaconda, as it does not slither at a very fast pace. attacking it with blunt objects or rocks isalso among the suggested options. predators generally prefer not to strugglefor their meals and it might choose to leave you alone.
maintaining your composure and staying alertcan prove to be crucial for avoiding the anaconda’s strikes. a sharp knife could make the difference betweenlife and death if fighting back is the only option you have left. if you are bitten by the anaconda, do notpull back. its curved teeth are designed to keep holdof its prey. use the knife to attack its head and the eyes,if possible. however, there have been reports of snakesstill biting long after their heads had been completely severed off.
do not attempt to fend off this snake in thewater. it is where the anaconda is most comfortableand most deadly. once it begins to coil, the faster you exhale,the tighter its grip will become. you should keep in mind that the tip of theanaconda’s tail is the most sensitive part of its body and attacking it might cause thesnake to withdraw. however, encounters in the wild between anacondasand humans are very rare and humans are not typical anaconda prey. number 1: green anaconda attacks young brazilianboy 8-year-old mateus and one of his friends wereplaying next to a creek on a ranch near the
city of cosmorama, in brazil. the two boys had no idea that, as they wereenjoying their afternoon, a 16 foot green anaconda was lurking in the water. the serpent pounced on mateus biting intohis shoulders, chest and neck and quickly coiled itself around him. the young boy would have certainly died ifhis friend hadn’t overcome his initial reaction. although he was initially paralyzed by fear,his friend moved past it and ran to get help. joaquim pereiera, mateus’ 66-year-old grandfatherarrived to find his grandson on the verge of being consumed by the giant anaconda.
armed with a rock in one hand and a smallmachete in the other, joaquim attacked the serpent. the armor-like skin of the anaconda provedto be hard to wound or pierce through. the fight lasted for over thirty minutes beforethe serpent finally released young mateus. the boy was taken to the hospital. amazingly, none of his bones were broken and,although shaken up, he managed to escape his ordeal without much damage. he did, however, require 21 stitches in hischest.
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