What does the largest anaconda look like? The green giant anaconda or water boa is the largest snake in the world. Anaconda: photos, pictures and videos. What does anaconda eat

Anaconda is common name four types snake. And speaking with scientific accuracy, anacondas are a genus of snakes belonging to the subfamily of boas. You can see photos of boas on our website, follow this link for photos and descriptions of all genera of snakes in the subfamily of boas. On this page we will describe and provide photos of only representatives of the anaconda genus.

The giant anaconda is the first species we'll look at; it is this species that is most often called simply - anaconda. In the scientific literature, this species is also called the common anaconda or green anaconda. The name green anaconda is a tracing paper (in linguistics, tracing paper is a borrowing with a literal translation) with English name this species of green anaconda snake.

Some individuals of this species do have a greenish skin tone. Here is a photo of a giant anaconda in an aquarium in Boston.

Exactly the kind giant anaconda- this is the most large view snake, of all modern species. The mass of the largest anaconda reached almost one hundred kilograms. She was caught and measured in Venezuela, the exact weight was 97.5 kg with a length of 5.2 meters. It was a female, in this species the females are larger than the males.

In the local press, there were sometimes reports of encounters with specimens ten meters or more long, but there is no reliable evidence of the existence of anacondas of this size.

The giant anaconda, like other types of anacondas, leads a predominantly aquatic lifestyle. She prefers quiet water bodies, such as lakes, oxbow lakes, low-flowing branches of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers.

Giant anaconda after a successful hunt.

The giant anaconda sometimes crawls out onto the shore and basks in the sun, but will never move far from the water.

Photo - the muzzle of a giant anaconda looks out of the water.

Anaconda feels great underwater, it not only swims, but also dives well, it can not rise to the surface for a long time. When diving, her nostrils are closed with special valves.

In some habitats of this species of anacondas, there are seasonal droughts. In the case of shallowing of the reservoir, anacondas either move to another, or burrow into the silt and hibernate. With the resumption of the rainy season, the snake wakes up.

Like all snakes, anacondas shed. Their molting takes place underwater. When kept in captivity, snakes often rub against the walls of the pools, gradually pulling off their old skin.

Green anacondas spend most of the year alone, only in April-May, when the rainy season is in the Amazon, they gather in groups. This time is special for them - they begin the mating period.

Giant anacondas, like all other representatives of the genus of boas, are ovoviviparous. After bearing the offspring for 6-7 months, the female gives birth to 25-40 cubs. Babies are 50-80 centimeters long and are completely independent from the first day. Rare cases are known when the anaconda laid eggs.

Common anacondas feed on small animals. Lying in wait for prey near the water, the snake attacks it with lightning speed and then strangles it, tightly wrapping itself in rings around the body of the victim.

The danger to the anaconda is only a large cat - jaguar. These cats are not afraid of water and can catch, kill and eat an anaconda, but this is rare.

Paraguayan anaconda

Paraguayan anaconda, or yellow anaconda - the species has a specific color, maximum length adult is equal to four meters.

In terms of lifestyle, the Paraguayan anaconda is practically no different from other representatives of its kind: it lives in the water, occasionally crawling onto land, feeds on small animals, reproduces not by laying eggs, but gives birth to cubs.

The Paraguayan anaconda is easy to breed in captivity. Females give birth from 7 to 40 cubs, childbirth can occur both in water and on land. Cubs from the moment of birth begin an independent life.

In the photo: Paraguayan anaconda in the zoo.

Anaconda Deschauensea

Anaconda Deshauenseya is a little-described species, it is only indicated that it lives in the north-west of Brazil. I did not find a photo of this type of anaconda.

Eunectes beniensis

Eunectes beniensis is another little-described anaconda species. In 2002, German herpetologist Lutz Dirksen first described it.

This species shares so many similarities with the Paraguayan anaconda that its future status as separate species unclear and questionable.

Anaconda Eunectes beniensis is known in Bolivia, it lives mainly in marshy places. These snakes are found only in relatively untouched and sparsely populated regions, which are not so few in Bolivia and they cover a vast territory. The species is of minimal concern, but these snakes are hunted for their meat, skin, and blubber. It also attacks small domestic animals such as dogs or cats, chickens and other birds, and for the peasants this is a sufficient reason to kill the snake. With all this special measures, the authorities of Bolivia have not yet taken special measures to protect this species, although there are plans to create a reserve "Lakes of Rogaguado" to preserve the biosystems of the swamps.

For writers and filmmakers, giant reptiles are the most beloved characters in stories and horror films. Information about these individuals is too exaggerated to be more interesting to watch or read.

Many myths and legends, not supported by reliable facts, go around giant anacondas. For example, that snakes attack people, or that other predators cannot kill them. But that's not the case at all. There have been cases when reptiles themselves became victims of cougars, jaguars, otters and crocodiles. Huge boas can be seen in zoos. For them, special horizontal terrariums are built. They contain ponds and trees so that you can get out of the water. Temperature and humidity are maintained artificially.

First mentions

After the discovery of South America, Spanish explorers first encountered a huge reptile - it was a giant anaconda. You can see photos of the largest specimens in the article.

The Wildlife Fund became interested in this discovery and offered a reward of fifty thousand dollars for the supply of a reptile between five and nine meters long. In Venezuela, about eight hundred snakes were found that exceeded the declared size, but in the end the prize was never claimed.

In the city of Antiocha, the Spaniards discovered a huge snake. She was a little over six meters long, with a scarlet head and terrible green eyes. People killed the specimen with a spear and saw a deer in its stomach.

Also in the forties in Colombia, a giant anaconda was found by an expedition. The size of the individual was more than eleven meters, and the weight was about two hundred kilograms.

Appearance

Anaconda is the largest reptile in the world. Its dimensions range from five to twelve meters, weight is about two hundred kilograms. There is evidence that you can meet a boa constrictor up to forty meters long.

The giant has a peculiar color, the body is green with a gray tint and two rows of round or oblong spots, similar to a checkerboard row. And on the sides are yellow drawings circled in black circles. Such skin helps the reptile to remain unnoticed under water.

There are four types of anacondas in the world - these are Benyan, Paraguayan, green and ordinary. These snakes live in tropical parts of Brazil, South America, Venezuela, Colombia and Paraguay near water bodies.

reptile life

Anaconda is most often found on the swampy rivers and lakes of South America. In these reservoirs, the snake guards its prey; it will never move far from the victim. Reptiles are very good at swimming and diving, they can stay under water for a long time due to special valves that close their nostrils. When rivers dry up, the anacondas drift downstream into other channels or burrow into the mud before the rainy season arrives.

The diet of snakes consists of small and large animals, which lie in wait near water bodies, and also deftly catch birds, fish and turtles. Being in a motionless state, the snake waits for its prey, and when it is already very close, the giant anaconda pounces sharply, wrapping its prey in a spiral and squeezing it tightly to suffocation. After that, it opens its mouth strongly and swallows the animal whole.

procreation

Almost all the time, reptiles live alone, and only during the mating season do they gather in small groups. During this season it starts to rain. Males on land find females by their scent. When mating, snakes curl up into a ball of several individuals and make a grinding sound.

The giant anaconda bears cubs for a little over six months. At this point, she almost doubled her weight. The number of children is approximately from thirty to forty serpents up to one meter long. Sometimes the anaconda can lay eggs.

huge reptile

AT South America lives a giant green anaconda. This was due to its color and big size. Its length is from five to ten meters. Females are thicker and larger than males, so it is easy to tell them apart. A feature of reptiles is that they have a very unpleasant and pungent odor.

The snake eats wild animals. The giant anaconda will not attack people; rather, on the contrary, having caught the smell of a person, it quickly leaves the place.

Reptiles live near water bodies, for them this is the most comfortable conditions. When the sun shines, they rest on the shore or perch on tree branches. During a drought, anacondas burrow to the bottom of the pond, and also during this period, females bear cubs that are born and immediately begin to swim and hunt.

Sukuriju

A snake called the giant man-eating anaconda lives in the Amazon. It moves freely on land and can stay under water for a long time. The Indians call this type of reptile Sukuriju. Their length reaches twenty to forty meters, and their weight is about half a ton. The individual is golden-green in color, has brown spots in the form of patterns on the body, the head is reddish. This type of snake was first discovered in the middle of the 16th century.

The anaconda eats a variety of animals that it can handle, mainly cattle. The smell emanating from reptiles first attracts the victim, and then paralyzes. And also the individual swallows a person whole. Several such cases have been recorded. Sukuriju attacks people by mistake, because the snake under water does not see the victim in full, but only part of the body, or if it may seem to her that they want to take away her prey.

From the above, we can conclude: the giant anaconda is different from the usual artistic description, but when meeting with a reptile, you still need to be careful.

Leaving the city of Antioch for Cartagena, when we settled it, Captain Jorge Robledo and others found so many fish that we killed with sticks what we would like to catch ... In addition, there are very big snakes. I want to tell and narrate something that is authentically known, although I did not see it [himself], but there were many contemporaries who were trustworthy, and this is what it is: when, on the orders of the licentiate of Santa Cruz, Lieutenant Juan Creciano passed along this road in search of Licentiate Juan de Vadillo, leading with him some Spaniards, among whom were a certain Manuel de Peralta, Pedro de Barros, and Pedro Shimon, they stumbled upon a snake or snake, so large that it was 20 feet long, and very fat. His head is light red, and fearsome green eyes, and since he saw them, he wanted to go towards them, but Pedro Shimon inflicted such a wound on him with a spear that even though he came into an [indescribable] rage, [still ] died. And they found in his belly a whole fawn, as he was when he ate it; I will say [also] that some hungry Spaniards began to eat the deer and even part of the snake.

Appearance

Anaconda is the most massive snake of the modern world fauna. The main body color of the anaconda is grayish-green with two rows of large brown spots of a rounded or oblong shape, alternating in a checkerboard pattern. On the sides of the body there is a row yellow spots smaller, surrounded by black rings. This coloring effectively hides the snake when it lurks in still water covered with brown leaves and tufts of algae. Anaconda is not poisonous - its saliva is completely harmless to humans, although wounds from teeth can be quite painful.

Dimensions

There is a lot of information about anacondas over 6 meters long, but none of this kind of observation is reliable. Thus, the famous Swedish naturalist Georg Dahl in his book “Wild Roads” (1969; Russian translation 1972) tells about his capture of an anaconda 8.43 m long on the Guayabero River in the jungles of Colombia. Another Swedish naturalist, Rolf Blomberg, in his book Giant Serpents and Terrible Lizards, referring to the data of Clifford Pope, mentions a specimen of an anaconda 28 feet long, that is, 8.54 m. It even describes the case of capturing an anaconda 11 m 43 cm long in 1944 in Colombia. The length of the largest anacondas ever described in the literature (P. Fawcett) is indicated at 62 feet (18.59 meters) and 80 feet (24.38 meters), which once again confirms the inconsistency of this kind of assertion.

According to official data, the largest of the female anacondas caught in Venezuela reached 5.21 meters in length and weighed 97.5 kg, despite the fact that at least 780 specimens caught passed through the hands of scientists. At the same time, the smallest individual capable of reproduction was only 2.1 m, excluding the tail. The size of the anacondas was the subject of a detailed study, which concluded that the maximum size that the largest anacondas can reach will be approximately 6.7 m - this is somewhat higher than the sizes of the largest samples that fell into the hands of scientists, but incomparable with unreliable and certainly greatly exaggerated data from the past.

Adult anacondas, as a rule, do not exceed 5 meters in length. Females are significantly larger and heavier than males - their length usually approaches 4.6 m, while males reach a length of about 3 m on average. Although the anaconda is somewhat shorter than some pythons, especially the reticulated python, it is much more massive: most adult female anacondas 4.5 m long will be comparable in weight to extremely large reticulated pythons about 7 m long. Adult weights are reported to typically range from 30 to 70 kg. Thus, the anaconda is the heaviest snake in the world fauna and the second largest scaly snake, somewhat inferior in weight only to the Komodo monitor lizard.

Range and conservation problem

Due to the inaccessibility of anaconda habitats, it is difficult for scientists to estimate its numbers and follow the population dynamics. At least in the International Red Book, the conservation status of the anaconda is listed in the “threat not assessed” category ( English Not Evaluated, NE) - due to lack of data. But in general, apparently, the anaconda can still be considered out of danger. There are many anacondas in the zoos of the world, but they take root in captivity quite difficult. The maximum life span of an anaconda in a terrarium is 28 years, but these snakes usually live 5-6 years in captivity.

Lifestyle

Anaconda leads an almost completely aquatic lifestyle. It keeps in quiet, low-flowing branches of rivers, backwaters, oxbow lakes and lakes of the Amazon and Orinoco basins.

In such reservoirs, the snake lies in wait for prey. She never crawls far from the water, although she often crawls ashore and basks in the sun, sometimes climbing onto the lower branches of trees. Anaconda swims and dives perfectly and can remain under water for a long time, while its nostrils are closed with special valves.

When the reservoir dries up, the anaconda crawls into another or descends downstream of the river. During the dry period, which occurs in some habitats of the anaconda, the snake burrows into the bottom silt and falls into a stupor, in which it remains until the rains resume.

Food

The anaconda feeds on various mammals, birds and reptiles, lying in wait for them near the water. She usually catches agoutis, waterfowl, iguanas, and other small animals. Less commonly, larger individuals are capable of attacking peccaries, capybaras, and caimans, but such large prey is not a frequent component of the diet. For lunch, anacondas often come across turtles, tegus, as well as snakes - at least once in the zoo, an anaconda strangled and ate a 2.5-meter python. Fish occupies a much smaller place in the diet of the anaconda than the four-legged inhabitants of the selva. Like all boas, the anaconda motionlessly waits for prey, lying in one place, and when it approaches, it grabs it with a lightning throw and strangles it, wrapping it with body rings (contrary to popular belief, the anaconda, like other boas, does not crush the victim and does not break her bones, but compresses it and does not allow it to breathe, as a result of which it dies from suffocation). Anaconda swallows prey whole, while greatly stretching the mouth and throat. In São Paulo, Brazil, a 4.2 meter long, 94 kg anaconda killed and swallowed a 42 kg 4 or 5 year old female cougar, sustaining fatal injuries in the process. Frequent cases of cannibalism have been noted in anacondas.

Anaconda head

Predation

Adult female anacondas have practically no enemies in nature; at times, however, they may fall prey to cougars, jaguars, giant otters, Orinoc crocodiles, and black caimans. Most often, anacondas are predated by crocodile caimans, with which they occupy similar biotopes. Caimans usually prey on cubs, as well as adult males weakened after mating, but in two recorded cases, large (about 2 meters) males are prey crocodile caimans became adult female anacondas about 5 meters long.

Subspecies

• Eunectes murinus murinus- type subspecies, lives in the Amazon basin within Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru
• Eunectes murinus gigas- common in northern Colombia, Venezuela, French Guiana and Trinidad and Tobago.

These two subspecies were described a very long time ago - in 1758 and 1801, respectively. They were distinguished by color details and average sizes, which are slightly larger in the second subspecies.

The giant anaconda is not currently thought to form subspecies.

legends about anaconda

Often in the descriptions of various "eyewitnesses" information is given about anacondas of monstrous length. It was not only dilettantes who sinned with this information. The famous British traveler in South America P. Fawcett wrote about snakes of incredible size, one of which he allegedly shot with his own hand:

“We went ashore and cautiously approached the snake ... As accurately as possible, we measured its length: in that part of the body that protrudes from the water, it turned out forty-five feet and another seventeen feet were in the water, which together was sixty-two feet.

Her body was not thick with such a colossal length - no more than twelve inches ... Such large specimens as this one are rarely found, but the tracks they leave in the swamps are sometimes six feet wide and testify in favor of those Indians who claim that anacondas sometimes reach incredible sizes, so that the specimen I shot should look just like a dwarf next to them! .. I was told about a snake killed on the Paraguay River and exceeding eighty feet in length! (62 feet = 18.9 m; 80 feet = 24.4 m; 12 inches = 30.5 cm)

Colonel Percy Fawcett (1867-1925), noted South American scholar who nonetheless left dubious descriptions of the anaconda

Now, without exception, all such stories are fiction (especially since Colonel Fawcett cited many other undeniably false information in his notes). Even mentioned many times in various sources a specimen 11.43 m long was not documented according to all the rules and is considered unreliable by most experts, especially considering the fact that the mass of this snake is indicated in the region of 200 kg, while an animal of this size should have weighed a little less than a ton. In general, female anacondas do not often grow larger than 4 meters. It is very significant that at the beginning of the 20th century in the United States, twice - once by President Theodore Roosevelt and the second time - by the New York Zoological Society, a prize of $5,000 was announced for any snake longer than 30 feet (a little more than 9 m), but and remained unclaimed.

A value greater than 8 meters for a snake is meaningless, at least from a purely biological point of view. Despite the fact that the anaconda occupies a slightly different ecological niche, even a 6-7-meter snake could overcome almost any herbivorous animal of the selva. Too much growth will be energetically unjustified - in the conditions of a tropical rain forest relatively poor in large animals, an excessively large snake simply will not feed itself and it will be more difficult for it to hide from large predators.

Just as fantastic are stories about the hypnotic gaze of the anaconda, which allegedly paralyzes the victim, or about its poisonous breath, which has a detrimental effect on small animals. The same P. Fossett, for example, wrote:

“... a sharp fetid breath emanated from her; they say it has a stunning effect: the smell first attracts, and then paralyzes the victim.

Nothing like this modern science, including taking into account the extensive experience of keeping anacondas in zoos, does not recognize. However, the fact that the anaconda emits a strong bad smell, is reliable.

Anaconda and man

Anacondas are often found near settlements. Domestic animals - pigs, dogs, chickens, etc. - often become the prey of this snake. But the danger of the anaconda to humans, apparently, is greatly exaggerated. Single attacks on people are made by the anaconda, apparently by mistake, when the snake sees only part of the human body under water, or if it seems to her that they want to attack her or take away her prey. The only reliable case - the death of a 13-year-old Indian boy swallowed by an anaconda - should be considered the rarest exception. On the contrary, the anaconda itself often becomes the prey of the natives. The meat of this snake is valued by many Indian tribes; They say that it is very good, slightly sweet in taste. Anaconda skin is used for various crafts.

Notes

1. Anaconda // Great Soviet Encyclopedia: [in 30 volumes] / ch. ed. A. M. Prokhorov. - 3rd ed. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978. (Retrieved August 17, 2011)
2. // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
3. Zenkevich L. A. Animal life. Vertebrates. Vol. 4, part 2: Amphibians, Reptiles. - M.: Enlightenment, 1969. - 487 p., p. 339.

The famous giant snakes! They grow to incredible sizes. These are strong powerful creatures, deadly giants, ruthless and insatiable.

Ancient legends tell of giant snakes capable of swallowing an adult human whole. Today, thanks to existing huge snakes myth turns into reality.

The largest anaconda in the world, with a length of 11.43 m, was caught in the swampy area of ​​Colombia. On the this moment in the New York Zoological Society lives a representative of boas about 9 meters in length and weighing 130 kg.

Another representative of the huge reptiles is the reticulated python. Its length is 12.2 m, and its weight is 2 centners. He lives now in the Japanese Zoological Garden.

From poisonous snakes considered the largest King Cobra reaching up to 5.5 m in length. Its habitat is India, Indochina and South China. The bite of a cobra is so poisonous that the death of a person occurs within a few minutes.

Anaconda is a super predator!

Anaconda of South America is the largest snake in the world of the boa family. At a meeting with her, a person’s blood turns cold and fear paralyzes the members. The strong writhing body of the snake is capable of strangling anyone who stands in its way, even an adult bull. And not surprisingly, the most long snake in the world can be compared with a bus. Her weight, in some cases, reaches the mass of three adult men.

Both cunning, cunning, and size, combined with the method of movement, enhance their eerie mystical charm.

But today, scientists are learning more and more about this mysterious creature.

Habitat and general characteristics of giants

big anacondas always keep close to water, live in lakes, rivers, canals and channels that make up the Amazon and Orinoco river basins in South America, as well as on the island of Trinidad.

Savanna Llanos, in Central Venezuela, with its lagoons and swamps - perfect place for anaconda habitat. them here large quantity than anywhere else. The climate of the area is such that there is a drought for half a year, followed by a half-year period of rains.

In most snake species, females are larger than males, but anacondas show one of the most significant sex differences between females and males among land vertebrates.

A large adult female snake can reach 6 m in length and weigh over 100 kg, having a girth of 30 cm. Males, by contrast, remain much smaller and thinner than females.

Like human fingerprints fingers, the pattern of scales on the underside of the tail is unique in each individual. This pattern, with which anacondas are born, remains unchanged.

Like other snakes, anacondas are cold-blooded creatures; are ectotherms. They cannot generate their own heat, but are forced to look for it in environment. Therefore, they are constantly in search of places with desired temperature at 25-27°C. They seek warmth when they need it and avoid it when it gets too hot.

Wonderful hunters without teeth and claws

Anacondas tend to kill their victims by squeezing them tightly. So much so that the blood does not flow into the heart. The heart stops beating, circulation stops, and the animal dies very quickly.

As soon as the snake begins to swallow prey, it becomes very vulnerable, since its main weapon is occupied. This process can take up to 6 hours depending on the amount of production.

Before the mating season, females must build up enough fat to carry offspring, since during pregnancy they do not eat for 7 months or more.

Even a turtle can become a victim, the shell of which perfectly dissolves the gastric juice of the strongest aggressive concentration. It is characteristic that after defecation there is no evidence left, all the bones are digested.

Anacondas eat various animals, ranging from small birds to large animals. The snake rarely loses in a fight, but sharp teeth and the prey's claws can decide the outcome against the predator.

When snakes want to gain weight, especially before the mating season, they have to eat big booty: capybaras, caimans and deer. All these animals know how to stand up for themselves, and sometimes they inflict mortal wounds on the snake. When a snake is having lunch, the food often tries to bite off a piece for itself.

Unlike other predators, giant snake swallows food whole. But, to compensate for the lack of limbs, the anaconda, like most snakes, has become a predator with unique ability to adaptation. The sides of the jaws are not connected in one place, which allows them to swallow any prey.

Despite the absence of such weapons as claws, snakes are skilled hunters. They use a number of complex tricks to survive in a hostile environment. Quite harmless appearance a forked tongue instills fear in most people. And some are even convinced that a snake can sting with its tongue. But this highly sensitive organ is vital for any snake to navigate its world.

With each protrusion of the tongue, the snake scans what is around. Both on land and under water, chemical analysis of particles is carried out with the help of the tongue, which enters the brain through two holes in the sky, leading to the so-called Jacobson's organ. This is why snakes have forked tongues.

The absence of eyelids on the eyes also gives the snakes a mystery. But what exactly they see, and how they do it, is still a mystery to scientists. No wonder snakes, especially anacondas, are surrounded by myths and legends. There has always been something curious and unknown about them, but thanks to new technologies, science is gradually revealing some of their secrets.

reproduction

Anacondas mate before the drought period, when the humidity is not as high as during the rainy season. The male wraps around the female so that outwardly it looks like spiral spaghetti. Moreover, the expression "group sex" very accurately characterizes the mating of anacondas, since many males wrap around the female at the same time.

They scratch at her skin with hip spurs, a primitive appendage inherited from the ancestors of lizards. This is the courtship phase, lasting up to 6 weeks, when the males are trying to figure out who can stay near the female. During all this time, snakes spend a huge amount of energy. They don't eat, they don't hunt, they just groom and mate. This is an amazing ritual!

Despite the inequality, there are no conflicts between males. This is a duel of perseverance and patience.

When fertilization has occurred, the tangle disintegrates. Males and females go each in their own direction.

New life

In seven months, the anaconda will give birth to 20 to 60 live cubs.

The mother does not feed during pregnancy because she is vulnerable to predators. Therefore, the months of pregnancy are stressful for the snake. By the beginning of childbirth, the mother will simply “die” of hunger.

Newborns reach up to 60 cm in length and from the very first breath they have to take care of themselves. Females do not feed their young.

Cubs are born with the ability to swim, and with all the skills necessary for survival. But they still have a chance to die. If predators practically do not hunt adult anacondas, then newborns are extremely vulnerable to any threat: from caimans and birds to wild cats, ocelots and jaguars.

By reaching sexual maturity, after 8 years, the anaconda weighs 500 times more than at birth. These growth rates are significantly higher than those of other snake species.

Not many baby anacondas will survive the first year of life. Snakes don't win numbers competitions. Sayings “Like a snake in the grass”, “He has a tongue like a snake”, “Snake is a snake” reinforce negative image snakes as dangerous and evil creatures.

Therefore, the main enemy of the anaconda is man. These mystical giants are slaughtered for beautiful skin and for the production of medicines.

They are now recognized by scientists as an endangered species.

The green giant anaconda lives in South America. The snake received this name for its size, ranging from 5 to 9 meters. According to reliable sources, the largest anaconda was 11.43 meters long.

The greenish hue of this snake also played a role in its name. Anacondas of all species have rounded and oblong spots on their bodies. The Paraguayan anaconda is famous for its brightest color. Her yellow body is adorned with blue spots.

Females differ from males more large size and thickness. characteristic feature of these reptiles is a sharp unpleasant odor that they emit in their presence.

The anaconda's diet consists of wild pigs, deer, birds, turtles, caimans, and even jaguars. Wrapping around its prey, the snake compresses it until it is completely strangled, and then, with the help of the lower movable jaw, swallows the prey whole. "Having eaten" in this way, the anaconda can go without food for about a month. It should be noted that, contrary to notoriety, the anaconda does not attack a person. On the contrary, the snake, having caught its smell, hastily retreats, since it itself is an object of hunting among the local population. It is believed that anaconda meat has high palatability.

The whole life of the anaconda passes near water bodies. Here she hunts, sometimes basking in the sun on the shore or located on the branches of a tree. Anaconda is an excellent swimmer and diver. The snake has special valves that close the nostrils, allowing it to stay in the water for a long time.

During the dry period, the snake can burrow into the muddy bottom of the reservoir and, falling into a deep stupor, waits out the drought. As a rule, the female at this time is in a state of pregnancy. Having safely waited out the drought, the female gives birth to about 40 cubs, which immediately after birth swim and hunt.

AT wild nature Anaconda can live for about 10 years.

A few more photos of the caught anaconda.

Video: Anaconda swallowed too much prey. Anaconda Snake Pukes Out A Cow In A Jungle River