Key Points
- Anacondas murder their prey by coiling their powerful bodies around the animal and twisting until the victim is unable to breathe, just like their boa relatives do.
- The snake can swallow its food completely because of its flexible jaws.
- In the footage, we get to witness how one of these snakes wraps itself around a little pig.
Although the term “anaconda” is really used to describe the entire genus Eunectes, it is most frequently used to describe one species, the green or common anaconda. With the largest girth in relation to the length of any snake, the green anaconda of America is the heaviest snake on the entire globe.
Males are much smaller than females. They can weigh 550 pounds, have diameters of 12 inches, and have impressive growth of 30 feet. The northern parts of South America are home to green anacondas.
The anaconda is a skilled diver and swimmer. The snakes may wait for prey while keeping almost completely hidden by the water because their eyes and nasal apertures are located on top of their heads. In order to be able to rapidly enter the water if necessary, anacondas rest and bask in the sun near riverbeds or in tree limbs that dangle over the water.
Feral pigs, deer, birds, reptiles, capybaras, iguanas, and even jaguars are part of the diet. They don’t hunt very actively, preferring to “watch and wait” when their prey swims past or approaches the water for drinking.
Anacondas murder their prey by coiling their powerful bodies around the animal and twisting until the victim is unable to breathe, just like their boa relatives do. The snake can swallow its food completely because of its flexible jaws.
The anaconda frequently eats in the water, where it’s possible that the buoyancy helps the food get into the right position for ingestion. After a large meal, these slithering serpents can go weeks or months between eating sessions.
Poor Piggy
A video on Youtube shows just how sneaky these snakes can be! In the footage, we get to witness how one of these snakes wraps itself around a little pig. Although it’s sad to see, this is what nature is truly like!
©Patrick K. Campbell/Shutterstock.com
It’s wild to see just how expertly these snakes wrap their bodies around prey, all while squeezing it to death. One comment on the video points out that these beasts used to be even bigger.
It reads, “Look at that beast. Incredible. Imagine the size of these things in prehistoric times.” It’s true! The Titanoboa, a snake that measured more than 40 feet long and weighed over 2,000 pounds was the king of the jungle and was a truly amazing creature. This enormous serpent resembled a modern-day boa constrictor in appearance, but it operated more like an aquatic anaconda.
Check out this small, but mighty, anaconda snatching a pig in the video below!
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I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.
