How many years do anacondas live? Is the anaconda dangerous to human life? How long does an anaconda live?

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 person whole. Today, thanks to the existing huge snakes, the myth is turning into reality.

The largest anaconda in the world, 11.43 m long, was caught in the wetlands of Colombia. On this moment In the New York Zoological Society there lives a representative of boa constrictors, about 9 meters in length and weighing 130 kg.

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

Among the poisonous snakes, the largest is considered King Cobra, reaching up to 5.5 m in length. Its habitat is India, Indochina and Southern China. A cobra's bite is so poisonous that a person's death occurs within a few minutes.

Anaconda is a super predator!

Anaconda South America- the largest snake in the world of the boa constrictor family. When meeting her, a person’s blood runs cold and a paralyzing fear appears. The snake's strong, writhing body is capable of strangling anyone who stands in its way, even an adult bull. And no wonder, the longest snake in the world can be compared to a bus. Its weight, in some cases, reaches the mass of three adult men.

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

But today scientists are learning more and more about it mysterious creature.

Habitat and general characteristics of giants

Big anacondas They always stay close to water, living 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.

Savannah Llanos, in Central Venezuela, with its lagoons and swamps - perfect place for anaconda habitat. There are more of them here than anywhere else. The climate of the area is such that there is a drought for six months, followed by a six-month period of rain.

In most species of snakes, females are larger than males, but anacondas exhibit one of the largest 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, with a girth of 30 cm. Males, on the other hand, remain much smaller and thinner than females.

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

Like other snakes, anacondas are cold-blooded creatures, i.e. are ectotherms. They cannot generate their own heat, but are forced to look for it in environment. Therefore, they are constantly looking for places with the desired temperature of 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 typically kill their victims by squeezing them tightly. So hard that no blood flows into the heart. The heart stops beating, blood 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 last up to 6 hours depending on the size of the production.

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

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

Anacondas feed on a variety of animals, from small birds to large animals. A snake rarely loses in a fight, but the sharp teeth and claws of the prey can decide the outcome not in favor of the predator.

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

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

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

With each protrusion of its tongue, the snake scans its surroundings. Both on land and under water, a chemical analysis of particles is carried out using the tongue, entering the brain through two holes in the palate leading to the so-called Jacobson's organ. This is why snakes have forked tongues.

The absence of eyelids on the eyes also makes snakes mysterious. But what exactly they see and how they do it still remains a mystery to scientists. It's no surprise that 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 a period of drought, when the humidity is not as high as during the rainy season. The male wraps himself around the female in such a way that it looks like spiral spaghetti. Moreover, the expression “group sex” very accurately characterizes the mating of anacondas, since many males are wrapped around the female at the same time.

They scrape against her skin with femoral spurs, a primitive appendage inherited from the ancestors of lizards. This is the courtship phase, which lasts up to 6 weeks, when males try to figure out who can stay near the female. During all this time, snakes spend a huge amount of energy. They do not eat, do not hunt, only court and mate. This is an amazing ritual!

Despite the inequality, no conflicts arise between males. It's a battle of perseverance and patience.

When fertilization has occurred, the ball disintegrates. The males and females each go in their own direction.

New life

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

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

Newborns reach up to 60 cm in length and from the very first breath they have to fend for themselves. Females do not nurse their young.

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

By the time it reaches sexual maturity, after 8 years, the anaconda weighs 500 times more than at birth. Such growth rates significantly exceed the growth rates of other species of snakes.

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

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

They are now recognized by scientists as an endangered species.

Almost 10 meters long and weighing three centners. All this is the largest anaconda snake. Photos and videos on our website will show you that, for the most part, fear has big eyes. This snake is not such a monster.

Anaconda - the largest snake in the world Anaconda (Eunectes) is the heaviest snake in the world, and a “good swimmer”.

Belongs to the class of reptiles, order Squamate, family - boa constrictors, genus - anaconda. This is a reptile creature that has no legs. It is believed that the predecessors of snakes were primitive lizards that appeared eighty million years ago. During the period of evolution, they lost their limbs. Apparently, that’s why they are considered relatives. The main difference between snakes is the ability to move the lower jaw so that it becomes possible to swallow objects much larger than their head.

9 meters long, 250 kilograms. Meet the anaconda. The world's largest snake.

Fiction and reality

Thanks to Hollywood and Jennifer Lopez. Today, probably only very lazy people have not watched the famous film “Anaconda”. In that film, the snake is presented as a terrible man-eating monster. In fact, this is very far from reality. Like attacking a person from a treetop. Anacondas are too heavy for this kind of hunting.

There are 4 types of anacondas.

• (Eunectes beniensis) - Bolivia
• (Eunectes deschauenseei) - Brazil
• Green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) – Amazon and Orinoco river basins
• (Eunectes notaeus) - Argentina and Paraguay.

What does Eunectes mean?

Eunectes is translated from Greek as “good swimmer.”

Anacondas live exclusively in South America:

• Argentina
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Ecuador
• Paraguay
• Venezuela
• Trinidad

The amazing size of this snake

Anaconda is considered the most large snake worldwide. The average length of its body can reach 10 m. The weight of these creeping creatures is up to 250 kg. The parameters of the largest anaconda that was caught by a person were: 11 m 43 cm.

What kind of anaconda is she?

Its body is colored brownish-green with brownish spots. Anacondas live in tropical forests in the south of America. They are comfortable in damp riverine forests and swamps, where the most best places for a great hunt. The anaconda constrictor spends most of its time in bodies of water, camouflaging itself in the grey-green waters where brown leaves and algae float. In such places, the snake is inconspicuous and, hiding, waits for the victim going to the watering hole.

Looks like a pretty cute face

Anaconda - absolutely not poisonous snake. Its main weapon is the ability to strangle prey by wrapping itself in numerous rings around it. She grabs the victim with her sharpest teeth, twists her body around it, tightening the animal’s chest until it stops breathing. After this procedure, the anaconda turns the prey with its head towards itself and swallows it, “putting it on” the victim’s carcass in the form of a stocking.

Anacondas have one more feature. Thanks to the presence of nasal valves on the muzzle, it can dive under water. The snake hunts various medium-sized ungulates and also feeds on waterfowl and domestic animals that come to the watering hole.

Anaconda - classification.

• Suborder: Snakes
• Family: pseudopods
• Subfamily: boa constrictors
• Type: Eunectes

The most important difference between an anaconda and a boa constrictor is that it is a viviparous snake!

Surely you have heard horror stories about anacondas more than once or watched terrifying footage from films. But in reality, these cases are extremely rare. The anaconda does not attack people because it knows that prey of this size may be too much for it to handle. However, there are documents in which there are documented cases of a teenager being killed by a snake. Amazon hunters, as soon as they see an anaconda, lose no opportunity to kill it.

Anaconda snake is incredible creation preserved virtually unchanged for many millennia.

Legends about huge snakes capable of swallowing a person amaze the imagination. However, such snakes do exist. In the rivers of South America live creatures whose size is difficult to imagine.

general characteristics

They belong to the boa constrictor family. This is the largest and heaviest reptile of all existing on earth.

Like all other snakes, it is a carnivorous predator.

Habitat

Snakes are found throughout tropical South America. Including:

• Colombia;
• Venezuela;
• Bolivia;

Appearance

Anaconda is the largest and heaviest snake of all existing on earth. The weight of an adult animal can reach 100 kg, and the length ranges from 5-7.5 meters. There is no documentary evidence of them whose dimensions exceed 7.5 meters. In the area of ​​the tail, these reptiles have small bony processes, which are the rudiments of the hind legs. For this feature they received the name pseudopods.

Anaconda photo.

The giant predator belongs to the boa constrictor family. The Indians of South America have legends that tell of the existence huge snakes, whose height reaches 12 meters. However, no one has yet been able to verify the authenticity of these stories.

The body color is gray-green with large brown spots, which are located along its entire body in two rows. Because of the greenish tint of her skin, she is called green. This snake is not poisonous. However, its bites can be very painful.

Habitat

These snakes are found in the rivers and lakes of South America. They can also be found in humid rural areas equatorial forests South American continent. Favorite place habitats are creeks, streams and small lakes of the water basins of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers.

Lifestyle

The anaconda snake leads a predominantly aquatic lifestyle, occasionally crawling onto the banks of reservoirs. However, she tries not to crawl too far from the shore. Because only in water does this animal feel completely safe. They are very mobile in water, but move on land with great difficulty.

Giant anaconda photo.

The speed of movement is influenced by the huge size and heavy weight bodies. Green snakes excellent swimmers and divers. They are able to stay under water for quite a long time.

At this time, their nostrils are tightly closed from water with skin growths similar to valves. Molting also occurs exclusively under water. At this time, the snake rubs its belly against the bottom and gradually pulls off its old skin.

Nutrition

This is a predator that feeds on a variety of mammals, amphibians and occasionally fish. A snake can lie in wait for its victims for a long time. Thanks to its color, the snake seems to blend in with the grass and remains almost invisible. After the prey gets close to close range, the snake makes a quick lunge and wraps its coils around its victim and begins to strangle it. The compression force is such that the animal simply cannot breathe and almost instantly dies from suffocation.

Anaconda snake underwater.

These snakes are sometimes called water boas. They even attack such formidable predators as crocodiles. A person can also become a victim of this reptile. Cases where a snake ate a person are often described by Indians living in the South American jungle. They are not documented. However, there is no reason not to trust the stories of local residents.

Reproduction

She leads a solitary lifestyle. These reptiles gather in groups only for the mating period, which occurs in April-May. At this time it rains in the countryside. At this time, females secrete odorous substances, by the smell of which males find them. After mating, the female bears the offspring for 6 months. At this time, she hardly hunts and loses a lot of weight. Anaconda snakes are viviparous. At birth, the cubs are about half a meter to 80 cm long.

Enemies

Adults in the wild have very few enemies. Few animals are able to defeat this giant snake.

However, cases of attacks on them by other predators still occur. Most often, young individuals become victims of predators. On land they are often hunted:

• jaguars;

Green snakes are often attacked crocodile caimans. Perhaps the most formidable enemy is man. Hunting water snakes is not prohibited. The Indians kill them for their valuable skin and meat, which they use for food.

Lifespan

Lifespan of a boa constrictor under conditions wildlife not known for certain. These snakes tolerate captivity very poorly and die after 5-6 years. Only one case is reliably known when a snake lived in captivity for 28 years.

Red Book

The water boa is a protected species. These reptiles are listed in the International Red Book. Due to the fact that they live in very inaccessible places, scientists have not been able to reliably estimate the size of the population. Therefore, assigned to them protective status belongs to the category “threat of extinction not assessed”.

Be in her stomach and stay alive! This idea came to the mind of the Italian biologist Paul R. Together with the Discovery Channel, Paul planned to conduct an experiment that was dangerous both for himself and for the boa constrictor and present the result to the audience of the channel. Scientist dressed in protective suit had to be swallowed by a six-meter snake. The idea is extremely dangerous. Snakes that reach this size easily swallow large mammals. However, there was no sensation.

Anaconda on the surface of the river.

The first time Paul tried to become dinner for the giant anaconda, it simply got scared and began to crawl away. Then the scientist decided to provoke the reptile himself into an attack, after which the snake, curled up in rings, began to swallow the man, squeezing him with its body.

The force of the pressure was such that the scientist felt that the bones of his arm were about to break, and he himself almost could not breathe. Wild pain and panic fear forced Paul to call for help and stop the experiment.

The scientist later said that only a protective suit saved him from imminent death. A person without protection would die within 10 seconds. This experience confirmed how dangerous a meeting with her is for any living creature !!

Do you know that...

Do you know everything about amphibians? There is a species of amphibian, such as the one that leads interesting image life. I advise you to read it!

For many of us, the word “anaconda” scares us. By it we mean something crawling, scary, with creepy green eyes. This boa constrictor is so huge that it can easily swallow not only an animal, but also a person. Since childhood we have heard that biggest snake- This anaconda. An aquatic, non-venomous reptile from the boa constrictor family. However, many of the scary stories about her are exaggerated.

Anaconda snake really very large. Its length sometimes reaches 8.5 meters, but five-meter individuals are more common. However, the legend about 12-meter or more long snakes, most likely a hoax. Such an individual can rather be called a rare unique specimen. It would be difficult for such a large and heavy reptile not only to move in nature, but also to hunt. She would have starved to death.

This boa constrictor does not attack humans. Moreover, he tries to avoid meeting people. The famous English naturalist, zoologist and writer, Gerald Malcolm Durrell described his meeting with this reptile. He saw her in dense thickets on the banks of the Amazon. It was a fairly large individual, approximately 6 meters in length.

The writer was extremely frightened, instinct forced him to loudly call for help to the accompanying aborigine. However, the snake behaved strangely. At first he really took a threatening pose, tensed, as if preparing to jump.

He began to hiss menacingly, but did not attack. After a while his hissing became less menacing and more fearful. And when the escort came running, they barely had time to see the tail quickly retreating into the thicket. The boa constrictor ran away, not wanting to come into conflict with the man.

Nevertheless, anaconda in the photo often presented in an eccentric and scary way. Either she attacks a wild pig, swallowing it entirely, then she wraps herself around a whole bull or fights with a crocodile. However, the Indians still tell stories of water green boas attacking people.

True, they always start out the same. The aborigine hunts birds or fishes on the river. He comes across a rather large individual and is forced to enter the river to pull it ashore. This is where the monster appears, who is in a hurry to take away the result of the hunt from him. It then engages in a fight with the hunter for the prey. The snake sees a person as a rival rather than a victim. Only blinded by rage can she fight people.

But people, on the contrary, can hunt these beautiful animals. The skin of a boa constrictor is so good that it is an attractive trophy. Very expensive products are made from it: boots, suitcases, shoes, horse blankets, clothes. Even anaconda meat and fat are used for food, explaining this with extreme benefits. They say that some tribes consider this food to be a source of immunity support.

Description and features

The giant reptile is very beautiful. It has shiny, thick scales and a large, ridged body. It is called the "green boa". The color is olive, sometimes lighter, but may have a yellowish tint. It can be greenish-brown or marsh color.

There are dark spots across the entire surface of her body in two wide stripes. On the sides there is a stripe of smaller spots surrounded by black rims. This coloring is an excellent camouflage; it hides the hunter in the water, making her look like vegetation.

The anaconda's belly is much lighter. The head is large and has nostrils. The eyes are directed slightly upward to see above the water while swimming in the river. The female is always larger than the male. Its teeth are not large, but it can bite very painfully, as it has developed jaw muscles. Saliva is not poisonous, but can contain dangerous bacteria and cadaveric poisons.

The bones of the skull are very mobile, connected by strong ligaments. This allows it to stretch its mouth wide, swallowing prey whole. The weight of a five-meter reptile is approximately 90-95 kg.

Anaconda– an excellent swimmer and diver. She stays under water for a long time due to the fact that her nostrils are equipped with special valves and close if necessary. The eyes look calmly under water, as they are equipped with transparent safety scales. Her organ of smell and taste is her mobile tongue.

Note that the length of the anaconda is noticeably shorter than the length of the reticulated python, another gigantic snake. But it is more massive in weight. Any anaconda is almost twice as heavy and stronger than its relative. One ring of her “deadly embrace” is equivalent in strength to several coils of a boa constrictor.

Thus, the myth that this snake is the largest in the world is unfounded. However, it is the heaviest and strongest of all known. In terms of weight per body volume, the boa constrictor is second only to the Komodo dragon. Maybe this is what forces him to live and hunt in water; such weight requires support from the water element.

Most often, storytellers, when describing the enormous size of this waterfowl, try to exaggerate their merits in capturing it. The biggest anaconda snake was spotted in 1944 in Colombia.

Its length according to stories was 11.5 meters. But there are no photographs of this amazing creature. It's hard to imagine how much it could weigh. The largest snake was captured in Venezuela. Its length was 5.2 meters and it weighed 97.5 kg.

Kinds

World of Anaconda Snakes presented in 4 types:

• Gigantic. This is the largest snake of its kind. It was she who gave rise to the spread of legends about the size of reptiles. Its length can reach up to 8 m, but more often up to 5-7 m. It inhabits all water areas of South America, east of the Andes mountains. Lives in Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, eastern Paraguay. It can be found in northern Bolivia, northeastern Peru, French Guiana, Guyana and the island of Trinidad.

• Paraguayan. Inhabits Bolivia, Uruguay, western Brazil and Argentina. Its length reaches 4 meters. The coloring is more yellow than that of the giant anaconda, although there are green and gray representatives of the species.

• Anaconda de Chauenseya (Deschauensea) lives in the north-west of Brazil, its length is shorter than that of the previous two. An adult reaches 2 meters.

• And there is a fourth subspecies, which is not yet very clearly defined. It is under study, Eunectes beniensis, discovered in 2002, similar to the Paraguayan anaconda, but found only in Bolivia. Perhaps it will eventually be identified with the above reptile, despite its habitat.

Lifestyle and habitat

These huge boas live near water and lead a semi-aquatic lifestyle. Most often they inhabit rivers with standing or slowly flowing water. Such overgrown ponds, creeks or oxbow lakes are usually rich in flora and fauna. It’s easy to hide there, masquerading as flora.

They spend most of their time in the river, occasionally coming to the surface. They crawl out to bask in a sunny place, and can climb onto the branches of a tree near the water. This is where they live, hunt and mate.

Their main habitats are river basins. The Amazon is the main body of water in their life. The boa constrictor lives wherever it flows. He inhabits water arteries Orinoco, Paraguay, Parana, Rio Negro. Also lives on the island of Trinidad.

If reservoirs dry up, it moves to another place or falls down the river. During drought, which affects some of the snake’s habitats in the summer, it can hide from the heat in the mud at the bottom and hibernate there. This is a kind of stupor state in which she is before the rains begin. It helps her survive.

Some people put the anaconda in a terrarium, since it is very impressive in appearance. The reptile is unpretentious and indiscriminate in its food, which makes it easier to live in zoos. Adults are calm and lazy. Young people are more mobile and aggressive. They breed well in captivity.

She also sheds in water. Watching a reptile in a terrarium, you can see how it, immersed in a container, rubs against the bottom of the pool, gradually freeing itself from old skin, like from a tired stocking.

Anaconda is very tenacious. Hunting for it usually takes place in the form of fishing with snares, which are installed close to the animal’s habitat. Having caught a snake, the noose is tightly tightened, almost preventing the caught reptile from breathing. However, she never suffocates. She again gets out of the situation, falling into a saving stupor.

It is said that captured anacondas, which seemed lifeless for several hours, then suddenly came to life. And it was completely worthwhile to take the precaution of carefully tying the snake. She came to life abruptly, and could cause injury to others.

Moreover, if you do not have time to locate the animal at the place of delivery, in a more spacious room, it will twitch in attempts to free itself, and may succeed in this. There were cases when the snake managed to free itself from the ropes. Then she had to be killed.

There is another example of the amazing vitality of a reptile. They say that an anaconda fell ill in one of the European mobile zoos. She stopped moving and eating. She looked dead. The watchman, seeing such a situation, decided to get rid of the snake’s body, fearing that he would be considered the culprit of its death.

He threw it into the river. And in the cage he opened the bars, lying that the snake squeezed through and ran away. The owner began to look for the anaconda, but to no avail. The zoo has moved to another location. They continued to look for the snake. Finally everyone decided that she had died or frozen to death.

This was the north of Germany. But the reptile survived, recovered, and lived for a long time in the river into which the caretaker threw it. She floated on the surface on warm nights, frightening eyewitnesses. Winter came. The animal disappeared again, again everyone decided that it had died.

However, in the spring the reptile appeared in this river again, to the horror and surprise of the residents. This went on for several years. This amazing case proves that anacondas are very tenacious in the wild, while in captivity you have to constantly take care of their habitat. Warm them up in the cold, change the water, etc.

Nutrition

These eat amazing creatures fish, amphibians, small iguanas, turtles and even other snakes. They catch birds, parrots, herons, ducks, aquatic mammals, such as the capybara and otter. It can attack a young tapir, deer, peccary, or agouti that comes to drink. She grabs them by the river and drags them deep into the depths. It does not crush bones, like other large snakes, but simply does not allow the victim to breathe.

Having strangled the prey with powerful embraces, it swallows it whole. At this moment, her throat and jaw stretch quite significantly. And then the boa constrictor lies at the bottom for a long time, digesting food. The strange thing is that, living in the water element, he prefers to eat the inhabitants earth's surface.

When free, the snake feeds only on fresh prey. And in captivity it can be trained to eat carrion. Cases of cannibalism have been observed in these reptiles. Cruelty and the desire to survive are their main principles when hunting. Natural enemies There are no adult anacondas, except for humans, of course. He hunts them for their beautiful and thick skin.

And young anacondas may have enemies in the form of crocodiles and caimans, with whom it competes on the territory. May be attacked by jaguars, pumas. A wounded snake can go to piranhas.

Among Amazonian tribes there are legends about tamed predators. They say that a reptile caught from a young age can live next to a person. Then she helps him, protecting the home from small predators, and the utility premises - warehouses and barns - from rats and mice.

For the same purpose, they were sometimes launched into the hold of a ship. Quite quickly the animal helped free the ship from uninvited guests. Previously, such reptiles were transported in boxes with holes, since they could go for long periods, up to several months, without food.

Reproduction and lifespan

About anaconda snakes we can say that they are polygamous. Most They spend time alone. But, when the breeding season arrives, they begin to accumulate in groups. The female is able to mate with several males at the same time.

The mating season is in April-May. And at this time the snakes are especially hungry. If they can go without eating for a long time, but during the mating season, hunger is unbearable for them. Reptiles urgently need to eat and find a partner. Only well-fed female anacondas successfully give birth to offspring.

Males find the female by the scent trail she leaves on the ground. She releases pheromones. There is an assumption that the snake also releases odorous substances into the air, but this theory has not been studied. IN mating games All males who managed to receive a “fragrant invitation” from her take part.

During the mating period, observing them is especially dangerous. Males are very excited and can attack anyone in a rage. Participants in the ritual gather into balls and intertwine. They wrap themselves around each other tenderly and tightly, using the vestige of a leg. They have such a process on their body, a false leg. The whole process is accompanied by grinding and other sharp sounds.

It is unknown who ultimately fathers the offspring. More often it becomes snake anaconda, who turned out to be the brightest and most affectionate. Several males may compete to mate with a female. In any case, after mating, all participants scatter in different directions.

The female bears the offspring for about 6-7 months. She doesn't eat at this time. To survive, she needs to find a secluded rookery. Everything is complicated by the fact that gestation occurs during a drought. The snake crawls from one place to another in search of the most humid corner.

Left under the scorching sun, she will inevitably die. The reptile loses a lot of weight at this time, almost twice. She gives all her strength to future babies. Finally, after almost seven months of gestation, the female, who survived such trials as drought and hunger strike, reveals her precious offspring to the world.

These animals are ovoviviparous. Usually a snake gives birth to from 28 to 42 cubs, sometimes up to 100. But sometimes it lays eggs. Each of the born cubs is about 70 cm in length. Only after producing offspring can the anaconda finally eat its fill.

Immediately after birth, babies are left to their own devices. Mom doesn't care about them. They study themselves the world. The ability to go for long periods without food helps them survive.

At this time, they can become easy prey for others and die in the paws of birds, in the mouths of animals and other reptiles. But only until they grow up. And then they look for their own prey on their own. In nature, the reptile lives 5-7 years. And in a terrarium its lifespan is much longer, up to 28 years.

We are afraid of these beauties, and they seem to be afraid of us. However, any type of animal living on earth is very important for the planet as a whole. This formidable reptile has direct responsibilities.

She, like any predator, kills sick and wounded animals, which cleanses natural world. And if we forget about our fear of anacondas and just watch them in the terrarium, we will see how graceful, beautiful and attractive they are.

There are snakes like snakes, and then there are giant anacondas. A living nightmare living in the mysterious jungles of South America, the queen of predators, patiently waiting for someone to make the last mistake in their life and come closer to her.

What does a giant anaconda look like?

The first step is to figure out how big the giant or green anaconda. The answer will depend on who you ask the question to. Horror fans, spitting saliva all around with excitement, will trumpet about the snake, rumored to have been caught in the Amazon basin, whose weight was 2067 kg and whose length exceeded 40 meters. Herpentologists will tell you that they recognize the specimen caught in Suriname as the largest anaconda. That snake was only some 5.2 meters and 97.5 kg. That is, it was about as long as a car and weighed only as much as a bear. If you get to the bottom of paleontologists, they will tell you about prehistoric Titanoboa snake, the largest that has ever lived in the world, with a weight of 1135 kg and a length of 15 meters. And what does anaconda have to do with it? Despite the fact that prehistoric animals are extinct, my friend, and if any creature on earth manages to surpass their size, then welcome to the Park Jurassic! So let's stick to the herpentologists.

On average, a giant anaconda grows to 3-4.5 meters and weighs about 45 kg. Such parameters make anacondas the heaviest snakes in the world, but not the longest. Here the palm will be taken over by the reticulated python with medium length 6 meters and a record of 7.7 meters. However, there is also a diameter! And the green anaconda has it, about three or four rolling pins folded together, that is, about 30-35 cm. So the title of the most massive snake again belongs to the anacondas.

The muscular body of the reptile is olive green, with oval brown or black spots on the back and ocher-yellow spots with a black border on the sides. The anaconda's head is narrow, with eyes and nostrils on the top of the head - a trick tested on crocodiles, which also hide their entire body under water and expose only their blinkers and blowholes. From the eyes to the jaws there are characteristic black stripes, like the war paint of the Indians.

Scientific name of the species

In Latin, the genus of Anacondas is called Eunectes (this is if you ever need to show off your intellect powerfully), which translated means “good swimmer.” Water is truly their element. On land they are only silent, but in the water they are still swift and graceful. Gravity, what! The speed of a swimming anaconda is about 30 km/h, which is three times the maximum swimming speed available to a person.

For the name of the species - murinus - the anacondas clearly paid a bribe to some scientist, since it means “mouse eaters”. Well, technically, they can eat mice too, but they need a bunch of mice like a bag of seeds for a person.

What and how do anacondas eat?

Anacondas are on top food chain. And there are enough links in this chain, so that the giant snake’s menu includes:

• rodents;
• lizards;
• birds;
• amphibians;
• various mammals.

An adult anaconda may want to taste a caiman or suddenly encroach on a jaguar. Such variety in the diet can be costly for the snake, since it will eat them, but at the same time it will also get hit with a narrow muzzle and a thick body. And as a result, it can quickly slide down the food chain, since an anaconda dying from injuries, as well as a dead snake, is no longer a thunderstorm of the jungle, but a whole feast on the mountain for all carnivores and the disdainful.

Now about the process itself. Anacondas are not poisonous, but that doesn't make it any easier for anyone. They have teeth - as many as six rows. Two on the lower jaw and two parallel rows on the upper. They are needed not for chewing, but for holding the victim, who is somehow selfishly not ready to stand and wait for them to wrap around her. Anaconda victims do not die from suffocation. The snake simply gradually squeezes the blood flow and hello, cerebral ischemia. Often it doesn’t even come to this, since if an anaconda catches prey at a watering hole, it will simply drag it under the water and then death from drowning is more likely.

In principle, the anaconda does not need someone to die at all; it is enough for him to stop twitching. After this, you can begin the swallowing process, which is always carried out from the head, so that the limbs and tails do not spread out. Anacondas have elastic jaws, that is, elastic ligaments, while there are two lower jaws, and they can move independently of each other. After the carcass is pushed into the throat, the muscles begin to work, contracting so as to finally deliver the food to the stomach.

Do anacondas eat people?

And this is one of the most interesting questions! Potentially, a snake is capable of swallowing a person, especially a small one. But every person is potentially capable of much. The fact that you, for example, can eat worms, does not mean that they are part of your diet, even not on a daily basis.

However, there are hundreds of stories about killer anacondas - what to do with them? Exhale and boldly face the facts. There is not a single documented case of a giant anaconda attacking a person. These snakes, of course, have their own sources of distinguishing prey, such as thermal perception and a vasomotor organ, which provides additional nuances of aromas, but they are unlikely to be able to determine by smell that they are facing a group of scientists and abandon sabotage.

In 2014, the Discovery Channel conducted an experiment for its film Eaten Alive. They dressed naturalist Paul Rosolie in a special suit that could withstand the teeth of a snake and the force of its compression, smeared it with pig blood and slipped it under the nose of a giant anaconda. The snake went nuts and tried to urgently hide in the jungle. They caught her and started poking her in the mug with the naturalist. Anaconda tried to screw up again. It is unknown how many times this scene was repeated, but in the end, the snake realized that you couldn’t just get away from these crazy people and, to the jubilation of the entire film crew, it finally attacked and began to squeeze Paul. But somehow without a spark and to “get rid of it.”

It is not known what the television crew were going to do from the moment when the snake finally swallowed the bait, maybe dragging Paul back by the rope, but it didn’t come to that. Since the suit prevented pressure, the scene took longer. The extreme massage turned on the naturalist’s brain and it dawned on him that until he lost consciousness, no one would eat him. And he won’t lose consciousness until the suit cracks. But when it cracks... In short, Paul yelled that the snake was going to break his arm and he didn’t sign up for this, his comrades rushed to the rescue, freed him from the terrible anaconda and it finally joyfully combed away, vowing to stay away from these two-legged creatures cretins as far away as possible.

After the film was broadcast, the channel was flooded with letters. People were very sympathetic to the anaconda and promised to crush the film crew themselves next time if they really wanted to.

Secrets of reproduction

On the entire long body of the anaconda, protected by scales, there is only one vulnerable place - the cloaca. It is from her to mating season The female begins to ooze secretions thickly saturated with pheromones. Leaving behind her a fragrant path that says “Vasya, I am yours forever,” the lady lies down by the water and waits. “Vasya” is usually drawn in up to 12 pieces. They all wrap themselves around the object of their desire and try to enter into a relationship with the lady. This collective fidgeting can last up to a month, until the lady finally decides that she has chosen a partner and opens her “gate” to him. After the fertilization process has passed, the male will leave a special wax “plug” in the cloaca.

Here, in general, it would be good for everyone to leave, but this is not always possible. The female will have to carry the eggs for seven months until the babies hatch from them, right inside. And caring mothers do not hunt all this time, so as not to harm their offspring. Going for a long time without food is not a problem for cold-blooded snakes, but before it starts, why not have a last snack? Moreover, you don’t even need to strain. While the males are moving away from the love fog, you can choose one that is not the longest and gobble it up, muttering, “Yam!”

Baby snakes are born quite independent. “I gave birth to you, and then it’s up to you,” says the woman in labor and runs off into the sunset. Considering that there are from 20 to 40 individuals in one litter, it would have been impossible to walk through the jungle for a long time without crushing the tail of an anaconda, if not for this disregard for the offspring. A small anaconda, only half a meter long and weighing half a kilo, although it can swim and hunt from birth, for the time being it cannot compete with most predators. However, children grow rapidly and after four years they reach adult size.

Where are giant anacondas found?

Anacondas love to lounge in the water, waiting for suitable prey. If given a choice, snakes will prefer calm waters, with trees growing along the edge, so that they can sometimes get out to bask in the sun or hang out in the shade on a tree for air. In this sense, the Brazilian Amazon is ideal for them, but they are not limited to this territory. Meet giant anaconda possible throughout South America east of the Andes up to northern Paraguay.

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