A huge anaconda underwater. The largest anacondas in the world Anacondas in nature are the largest individuals

Anaconda is one of those few reptiles that have survived almost unchanged after many millennia of existence on Earth. Today we will consider detailed description this snake, as well as information about its habitat, nutrition and the possibility of keeping at home.

Description and appearance

There are many legends about the anaconda, sometimes so incredible that they call into question the existence of a snake in the real world, so it is necessary to consider information about who the anaconda is, whether such snakes exist on the planet or not, what kind of creature it is and what they are.

The genus Anaconda is just one species of snake, the name of which coincides with the name of the genus. This type of snake is also called giant, common, black, green anaconda. This huge creature belongs to the Boa family, therefore in ancient literature you can find the name "water boa".

With a sufficiently large length, the animal's weight is record and can reach more than 100 kg, so we can confidently say that the anaconda is the largest snake in the world. The biography of this creature can be traced back to 1553, when it was first mentioned in literature - it was the book of Pedro Cieza de Leon "Chronicle of Peru".

Body characteristic

Let's take a closer look at what an anaconda looks like, what its dimensions are: how many meters it reaches in length, how much it weighs.

The main color of the snake is grayish-green, on the body there are two rows of brown spots in a checkerboard pattern that have a rounded or oblong shape. The sides of the body are decorated with small yellow spots, which are surrounded by black rings. Thanks to this color, the snake can effectively camouflage itself during the hunt.

Anaconda does not belong to the category poisonous snakes, and her saliva is not capable of causing paralysis in the victim. As for size, there is eyewitness information about the existence of individuals whose length exceeded 6 m, but they are not registered as official.

If we rely on official data, then the largest anaconda is the discovered female, which has the maximum length for the species - 5.21 m, and her weight was 97.5 kg.
The average body length of these animals usually does not exceed 5 m in length, in addition, females have a larger and longer body than males. The average body weight of an adult is 50 kg.

Did you know? Anaconda, like ordinary snakes, is capable of shedding old skin: this process takes place in water, at the bottom of a reservoir. To make molting easier, the snake rubs against the bottom, and the old skin peels off much faster.

Like other reptiles, these creatures have axial skeleton, divided into two sections - the trunk and the tail: they consist of 435 vertebrae. The snake has movable ribs, which are able to spread widely after hunting and swallowing big booty.

The skull has a very mobile articulation of the bones, which are interconnected by elastic ligaments, which allows the animal to open its mouth wide in the process of swallowing large prey whole.

Due to the fact that the nostrils and eyes of the creature are located high on the head, the animal is able to be completely in the water - this simplifies the hunting process. This feature of the location of the organs is very similar to crocodiles.
The anaconda has short teeth, so the victim receives shallow bites, and if she is lucky to escape, then the wounds usually heal quickly and without much consequences.

Anaconda is often compared to a python: both animals have a similar body structure, but despite the obvious similarities, the anaconda is much heavier, and in length this animal is second only to the reticulated python - the longest reptile in the world.

Movement speed and strength

The animal moves very quietly and quickly enough, especially during the hunting season. At the moment of throwing for prey, its speed on land can reach 40 km / h, which is associated with a very powerful body musculature.

The reptile has the strongest muscles capable of exerting a compressive force equal to 16 kg per 1 sq. cm of the body, or more than 1.5 tons per 1 sq. m, so it can strangle the victim in a matter of seconds.

Anaconda is able to move very quickly in water: its speed is 25 km / h, and it can hold its breath when immersed in water for 1.5–2 hours.

Lifestyle

The creature's lifestyle differs from other snakes primarily in that it prefers to spend most of its time in a reservoir. Many are interested in how long this reptile lives, and the answer to this question is 11 years in wildlife and up to 30 years in captivity.

Area

Let's take a closer look at where the animal lives. Anaconda is distributed throughout the tropical part of the South American mainland. The snake feels good in calm waters, therefore it can be in the backwaters, lakes of the Amazon basin or the Orinoco River: in such places it is easiest for it to hunt.

The animal is always found near the water, occasionally visiting the shore to bask in the sun, sometimes settling on the lower branches of a tree. In hot weather, when the reservoir dries up, the creature can crawl to another place or go downstream.

Sometimes it burrows into silt and falls into a daze, and lives in this state until the moment when the reservoir is again filled with water.

How it hunts and what it eats

The food for reptiles in the wild is different types mammals, birds and reptiles that it waits by the water. Most often, among the victims of the anaconda there are agouti, waterfowl, iguanas, and the snake can also eat bakers, capybaras and caimans. The easiest prey for the creature are turtles, tegu and small snakes.

Consider how the anaconda kills. The animal does not make much effort to catch the prey: it often lays in wait for the victim in a motionless state and abruptly grabs it in a lightning-fast throw, then, wrapping the rings around the body, proceeds to strangle the victim and swallows it whole, opening its mouth wide.

Cases of cannibalism are also common, when one individual can eat another, smaller one.

Reproduction

Anacondas are solitary snakes, but when the mating period comes, they form groups. This time falls on the rainy season - April – May. Females secrete the enzyme, leaving it on the ground and thus attracting males.

In the process of mating, the male wraps around the female, using the rudiments of the hind limbs for cohesion. The process of bearing offspring is stretched for 7 months - at this time the weight of the snake is significantly reduced, almost twice.
One female can reproduce up to 42 baby snakes, in rare cases up to 100. Small snakes are about 60 cm long.

Did you know? Anaconda is considered to be ovoviviparous, but is sometimes capable of laying eggs.

Enemies of the snake

Consider who can defeat the anaconda in a fight and who is stronger than the described animal. Adult females, due to their large body size, have practically no enemies, while males often become victims.

They can be hunted by cougars and jaguars, giant otters, Orinox crocodiles and black caimans. Often, adult males and especially cubs can be eaten by crocodile caimans.

How to escape from anaconda

There are quite a few cases of a reptile attacking a person - perhaps this is due to the fact that such incidents occur deep in the jungle, and therefore remain unregistered, and it is still unclear whether people eat anacondas intentionally.

Nevertheless, the observations that were carried out by humans allow us to put forward a theory that an adult animal will not dare to attack a person first. An attack is possible if the snake is disturbed and it perceives you as a threat.
However, it is worth remembering that a reptile can easily swallow a person, so it must be perceived as potentially dangerous. Most often, a person is exposed to bites - in order to protect itself, the animal bites on any part of the body, which can then swell.

Important! If you don't have allergic reaction on the components of anaconda saliva, the swelling will soon pass, but if not only the bite site, but the whole body begins to swell, you should immediately go to the hospital.

Is it possible to keep at home

Only the Paraguayan subspecies is suitable for home maintenance, but only professional terrarium keepers are advised to start such a dangerous creature at home.

For the animal to feel comfortable, it needs to provide a very large terrarium, approximately the size of a small room, in which a large pool will be placed, since the creature simply needs to be in the water regularly.

Rats and rabbits are good food. Small individuals are recommended to feed once every 15 days, adults - once a month. In order not to provoke the aggressiveness of the animal towards humans, you should not give it live food.
The terrarium needs to be cleaned every day and the water in the pool changed, the dwelling should be kept very humid - at least 90%. The total temperature in the terrarium must be at least +25 ° C, it is imperative to provide the anaconda with a warm corner with a temperature of +30 ° C.

The reptile is equipped with 2 shelters, coconut mulch and peat mixture are well suited as a substrate, driftwood is also installed so that the snake can crawl on them.

Precautions for keeping anaconda at home include the following:

1. Not to be alone when communicating with a snake - it is necessary that there is someone to save you in case of an animal attack.
2. You should not take a home anaconda in your hands - these snakes do not tolerate invasion of personal space, therefore they often bite or squeeze hands, up to fractures.
3. Cover the enclosure tightly to prevent the snake from getting out of it on its own.
4. It is advisable that the room in which the terrarium is located should be tightly closed. For safety reasons, it is not recommended to install it in a bedroom or room where people are resting or sleeping.

Important! When the terrarium is open, in no case do not let pets and small children close to the snake, as there is a high probability that the anaconda will swallow them in a matter of seconds.

Thus, the anaconda is a very large creature, which in its habitat is a dangerous predator. It is not advised to keep an anaconda at home, but if you decide to acquire such a peculiar friend, you must try very hard and spend money to provide the snake with the necessary conditions for a normal existence.

Anaconda: video

Anaconda versus a python is likely to win in battle, unless, of course, it encounters the longest snake in the world, the reticulated python, in battle. But here, too, her chances of winning are much higher, since she, being little inferior to him in length, is significantly superior in weight.

A large anaconda is able to cope with a young crocodile. Of course, she cannot withstand an adult, massive, large specimen; in a fight with him, she will find herself in the role of prey. But she can handle a small crocodile without much difficulty, and therefore it is quite capable of feasting on them.

Anaconda is a vertebrate animal from the class of reptiles, belongs to the genus of snakes from the subfamily of boas and lives in tropical latitudes South America... This snake feels great in fresh water, and therefore prefers to spend as much time as possible in aquatic environment, for which it received the name water boa. Since it belongs to the subfamily of boas, the snake is not poisonous: it strangles its prey.

At the moment, the following types of anacondas have been found:

• The giant is the most big snake in the world, more than five meters long, lives in tropical latitudes and settles in swamps and large rivers;
• Paraguayan - no more than three meters long, lives in closed low-current reservoirs. In addition to Paraguay, it lives in Bolivia, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil;
• Deschauersea - lives in the northwestern part of Brazil;
• Eunectes beniensis is a snake about four meters long, representatives of this species are similar to the Paraguayan anaconda and it is highly likely that in the future it will become its subspecies. It was discovered in Bolivia in 2002 and in this moment is under study.

Description

Anaconda is considered one of the largest members of the genus of snakes in the world: the length of the longest measured anacondas is 5.2 meters, and the weight is 97.5 kg (females are larger than males). There is a lot of information about larger specimens, whose size exceeds ten meters, but these data are not confirmed by anything, and are very doubtful. It is worth noting that the anaconda against the reticulated python is inferior in length (according to the Guinness book, the maximum length of a python is 9.75 meters), but still wins in mass.

Anaconda has a greenish-grayish color with large brown spots of a rounded or oblong shape, which alternate in a checkerboard pattern (such a color hides a hunting snake very well). Speaking about the anaconda, it will be interesting that it, like the rest of the snakes, takes off its old skin, but does it without leaving the reservoir: it rubs against its bottom.

Although the sounds of anacondas are practically not heard, they have a very well developed nervous system, therefore, various fluctuations in environment they feel with the whole body.

But as far as vision is concerned, periodically the snake goes blind: instead of eyelids, there are motionless transparent scales in front of its eyes, which, when the snake begins to molt, become cloudy, blocking the view. Speaking about the anaconda, it should be borne in mind that, being a snake, it does not blink, therefore there is an opinion that it hypnotizes prey.

Lifestyle

One of interesting facts about the anaconda is that it is almost always in the water, and tries to go out on the coast as little as possible: it swims perfectly and is able to stay under water for a long time, and in order not to suffocate, its nostrils block the valves during the dive. She prefers to swim in water bodies either with a very calm current, or even without it.

A boa constrictor gets out on the shore mainly to bask in the sun, for this it even sometimes climbs trees. Speaking about the anaconda, it should be borne in mind that it moves, like all snakes: the tenacious scales located on the abdomen, as well as the muscles of the trunk, play the main role in this process.

Once on land, the snake does not move far from the water, and if the reservoir dries up, or moves to another, or descends along the river. If during a drought it is not possible to change the reservoir, the boa constrictor burrows into the silt located at the bottom of the reservoir, after which it falls into a daze until the beginning of the rainy period.

Food

Like all boas, anaconda is not a poisonous one: having attacked the victim, it embraces it, from which the animal rarely manages to free itself. Its grip is so strong that even one of the most formidable predators in the world, the crocodile, is capable of becoming its prey (though an adult crocodile large species he will get rid of the capture and, most likely, will eat it himself).

The largest snake in the world eats various reptiles, small mammals that come to the watering hole. Usually these are rodents, turtles, waterfowl, lizards. Larger individuals can eat capybaras, bakers, medium-sized crocodiles (up to two meters), even a case is known when a large anaconda managed to eat a 2.5-meter python. They may well eat representatives of their own species.

Smelling prey, the snake freezes in the water and becomes motionless. After the victim approaches, the boa immediately attacks it and strangles it, completely blocking the oxygen by immobilizing the chest, so the victim dies from suffocation.

After that, the snake eats it whole, strongly stretching its mouth and throat. Like all snakes, its mouth is very well stretched with the help of an elastic ligament connecting the right and left sides of the lower jaw, which are connected to the skull by bones, the ends of which provide them with rotational movement. Thanks to this, the largest snake in the world is able to swallow an animal much larger than it (for example, a young crocodile).

Reproduction

Speaking about the anaconda, it should be borne in mind that they are solitary animals, but when the mating period begins, they gather in flocks (this happens during the beginning of the rainy season). At this time, several males are usually found near one female at once and, like other snakes, when mating, they intertwine into a ball of several individuals.

Anaconda refers to ovoviviparous: it bears eggs inside the body, while the cubs are mainly fed not from the snake's body, but from the egg. Before being born, snakes leave the egg shell while still in the mother's body. The female bears the cubs about six to seven months and during this time she loses weight almost twice.

The female gives birth to 28 to 42 cubs from 50 to 80 cm long, sometimes their number can reach up to a hundred. Molting begins immediately after birth, so the snake does not eat anything at this time. When the molt ends, the baby is already able to swim, extract, feed on its own. During this time, small anacondas are extremely vulnerable and are eaten by birds, crocodiles and other predators.

Enemies of anacondas

If we talk about the anaconda, it must be borne in mind that this boa constrictor is so strong that it practically has no rivals among the snakes (the anaconda against the python will withstand the fight without difficulty). Sometimes she can be attacked by a jaguar or a large crocodile. A large individual is rarely attacked: a crocodile usually attacks and eats snakes or males weakened after mating. Two cases were recorded when an adult male crocodile managed to cope with female anacondas (such situations are the exception rather than the rule).

Despite the fact that the boa constrictor eats many mammals, rumors about the anaconda as a human-eating snake are greatly exaggerated. A boa constrictor of this species rarely attacks a person (despite the fact that a boa constrictor is longer, a person is located vertically in relation to the surface, and therefore she, perhaps, considers him too large prey for herself).

Recorded single cases of an attack on a person caused by the fact that the snake sees only a part of the body with which it is able to cope, or believes that they want to take food away from it. And then, she will attack a person sluggishly, reluctantly, rather trying to scare him in the hope that he will leave. The only case when it is known for sure that the anaconda managed to eat a person is the death of an Indian teenager.

Since the snake lives in hard-to-reach impassable places, if there were cases that caused death, there was usually no one to fix them.

It is a person who is the most serious enemy for an adult anaconda: the Indians hunt her because of the skin, which is used for textiles and haberdashery, as well as meat. Hunting for anacondas in the countries where they live is not prohibited, since it is believed that there are quite a few of them, and they give numerous offspring. It is difficult to say exactly how many anacondas are in the world, since they prefer to live in difficult-to-pass places, where a person's foot steps as little as possible.

For many of us, the word "anaconda" scares. By it we mean something creeping, scary, with eerie green eyes. This boa constrictor is so huge that it can safely swallow not only an animal, but also a person. We have heard from childhood that the biggest snake - this is anaconda... An aquatic non-venomous reptile from the boa 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 of 12-meter and longer snakes is most likely a hoax. Such an individual can rather be called a rare unique. Such a large and heavy reptile would be difficult not only to move around in nature, but also to hunt. She would starve to death.

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

The writer was extremely frightened, instinct made him loudly call for help from 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 hiss became not menacing, but rather frightened. And when the escort came running, they barely had time to see the tail quickly retreating into the thicket. The boa fled, not wanting to come into conflict with the person.

Nonetheless, anaconda in the photo often presented eccentrically and scary. Now she attacks a wild pig, completely devouring it, then she wraps around a whole bull or fights with a crocodile. However, the Indians still tell stories of how water green boas attack people.

True, the beginning is always the same. The aboriginal hunts birds or fish on the river. He comes across a rather large individual and he is forced to enter the river in order to pull it ashore. Here the monster appears, which is in a hurry to take away the result of the hunt. Then it engages in combat with the hunter for prey. The snake sees in a person more a rival than a victim. Only blinded by rage can she fight people.

But people, on the contrary, can hunt these beautiful animals. The skin of the boa constrictor is so good that it is an attractive trophy. Very expensive products are made from it: boots, suitcases, shoes, blankets for horses, clothes. Even the meat and fat of anacondas are used for food, explaining this by its extreme benefits. It is said that among some tribes this food is considered a source for maintaining immunity.

Description and features

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

Dark spots are located on the entire surface of her body in two wide stripes. On the sides there is a strip of smaller specks surrounded by black rims. This color is an excellent disguise, it hides the hunter in the water, making her look like vegetation.

The belly of the anaconda is much lighter. The head is large, there are 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. Her teeth are not large, but it can be very painful to bite, since she has developed jaw muscles. Saliva is not poisonous, but it can contain harmful bacteria and deadly poisons.

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

Anaconda Is 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 protective scales. Her mobile tongue acts as the organ of smell and taste.

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

Thus, the myth that this snake is the largest in the world is untenable. However, she is the heaviest and strongest of all known. By weight per body volume, the boa constrictor is second only to the Komodo dragon. Maybe this makes him live and hunt in the water, such a weight requires the support of the water element.

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

According to the stories, its length was 11.5 meters. But there are no photos 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 snakes anacondas represented by 4 types:

• Giant. It is the largest snake of its kind. It was she who gave rise to the spread of legends about the size of the reptiles. Its length can reach up to 8 m, but more often up to 5-7 m.Inhabits all water areas of South America, to the east mountain Andes... 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. Breeds in Bolivia, Uruguay, western Brazil and Argentina. Its length reaches 4 meters. The color is more yellow than that of the giant anaconda, although green and gray representatives of the species are found.

• Anaconda de Chauency (Deschauensie) lives in northwestern Brazil, its length is less than 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 only found in Bolivia. Perhaps, over time, it will be identified with the above reptile, despite the habitat.

Lifestyle and habitat

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

They spend most of their time in the river, occasionally climbing to the surface. They crawl out to warm themselves in a sunny place, they can climb onto tree branches near the water. They also live, hunt and mate there.

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

If the reservoirs dry up, it moves to another place or goes down along the river. In a drought that captures some areas of the snake in summer, it can hide from the heat in the silt at the bottom and hibernate there. This is a kind of stupor in which she is before the start of the rains. It helps her survive.

Some people settle anaconda in a terrarium, as it looks very effective. The reptile is unpretentious and indiscriminate in 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 the water. Watching the reptile in the terrarium, you can see how it, immersed in the container, rubs against the bottom of the pool, gradually getting rid of the old skin, as if from a boring stocking.

Anaconda is very tenacious. Hunting for it usually occurs in the form of catching with loops, which are installed near the animal's habitat. Having caught the snake, the loop is tightly tightened, almost not allowing the caught reptile to breathe. However, she never suffocates. She again gets out of the situation, falling into a saving stupor.

They say that the captured anacondas, which seemed lifeless for several hours, then suddenly revived. And it was completely useful in this case was the precaution to carefully tie the snake. She came to life abruptly, and could injure others.

Moreover, if you do not have time to identify 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 have been 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 the reptile. It is said 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 her death.

He threw her into the river. And in the cage, he parted the bars, lying that the snake itself squeezed through and ran away. The owner started looking for an anaconda, but to no avail. The zoo has moved to a different location. They continued to search for the snake. Finally, everyone decided that she was dead or frozen.

This was the north of Germany. And the reptile survived, recovered, and lived for a long time in the river, into which the watchman threw it. She swam 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 reappeared in this river, to the horror and surprise of the inhabitants. This went on for several years. This amazing case proves that anacondas are very tenacious in freedom, while in captivity you have to constantly take care of their habitat. Warm them up in the cold, change the water, etc.

Food

These amazing creatures feed on fish, amphibians, small iguanas, turtles and even other snakes. They catch birds, parrots, herons, ducks, aquatic mammals, such as capybara and otter. Can attack a young tapir, deer, bakers, agouti who has come to drink. She grabs them by the river and drags them into the depths. Does not crush bones, like other large snakes, but simply does not allow the victim to breathe.

Having strangled the prey with a mighty embrace, it swallows it whole. At this moment, her throat and jaws are very significantly stretched. And then the boa constrictor lies at the bottom for a long time, digesting food. It is strange that, living in the water element, he prefers to eat the inhabitants earth surface.

On the loose, the snake feeds only on fresh prey. And in captivity it can be taught to fall. Cases of cannibalism have been observed in these reptiles. Cruelty and desire to survive are their main principles on the hunt. Adult anacondas have no natural enemies, except for humans, of course. He hunts them for their beautiful and thick hide.

And young anacondas may have enemies in the form of crocodiles, caimans, with which it competes in the territory. May be attacked by jaguars, cougars. A wounded snake can get piranhas.

Among the 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 utility rooms - warehouses and barns - from rats and mice.

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

Reproduction and life expectancy

About the snake anacondas we can say that they are polygamous. They spend most of their time alone. But, at the arrival of the breeding season, they begin to accumulate in groups. The female is able to mate simultaneously with several males.

The mating season is in April-May. And at this time, the snakes are especially hungry. If they can not feed 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 anaconda give birth to offspring successfully.

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

During the mating period, watching them is especially dangerous. Males are very excited, they can attack anyone in a rage. The participants in the ritual gather in balls, intertwine. They wrap around each other gently and tightly using the rudiment of the leg. They have such a process on their body, a false leg. The whole process is accompanied by grinding and other harsh sounds.

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

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

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

These animals are ovoviviparous. Usually a snake gives birth to 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 by producing offspring can the anaconda finally eat its fill.

Immediately after birth, babies are on their own. Mom doesn't care about them. They study themselves the world... The ability to go without food for a long time 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 are already looking for their own prey on their own. In nature, a reptile lives for 5-7 years. And in the terrarium, her life span is much longer, up to 28 years.

We are afraid of these beauties, and they seem to be afraid of us. However, any kind 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, than cleans 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.

Snakes are in themselves quite unsightly creatures and few people like them to look, and even more so to the touch. It is unlikely that a large number meeting with a snake in some forest will cause some positive emotions, but do not forget that snakes are of different sizes and if in our forests you rarely meet someone larger than a snake or a viper, then when traveling somewhere in the tropics we we risk stumbling upon a specimen that is completely unusual for our eyes - anaconda. The largest snake in the world actually lives in rather inaccessible places, especially for ordinary tourists, but still, we will introduce you to this amazing creeping giant. So, let's start with the most interesting - the largest snake usually reaches 5-6 meters in length, but sometimes there are also 9-meter specimens. The longest snake caught was a giant anaconda 11.43 meters long. And although it was not possible to save this individual, its length was reliably documented. At the moment, the longest is the 9-meter anaconda contained in the New York Zoological Society. Anaconda can be identified not only by its enormous size, but also by its characteristic grayish-green color with two rows of round and oblong brown spots on the back and yellow spots in black edging on the sides. This is almost an ideal disguise for a snake that is accustomed to watch its victims sitting in water covered with leaves and algae.
Due to the inaccessibility of the habitats of anacondas, there is still no objective data on the size of their population. Basically, these giant snakes live in the quiet backwaters of the Amazon and Orinoco, only occasionally crawling ashore to bask in the sun.
In the old literature one could often find the name "water boa", because it is indeed one of the subspecies of boas, and spends most of its life in the water, but nevertheless this subspecies has its own name - the giant anaconda.
If the reservoir in which the anaconda lives dries up and there are no other backwaters nearby, the snake burrows into the silt and goes into a kind of hibernation until the rainy season begins. The largest snake in the world cannot live and hunt normally outside water bodies.
Even the old skin of the anaconda is shed, "without leaving home" - rubbing against the river bottom, gradually pulling off the old cover
Just like other boas, anaconda is not poisonous, but pacifies its victims with "close embraces" and subsequent squeezing, from which it is almost impossible for the animal to get rid to wrap him around himself - this is exactly what trainers do in a circus. Although with anaconda, such a trick is unlikely to help, tk. it is incomparably larger than any circus boa constrictor. By the way, female anacondas are much larger and stronger than males.
The largest snake catches unlucky animals, trapping them near the water. But this applies not only to tapirs, capybaras and similar herbivores - there have been cases when a large anaconda even devoured a jaguar! Of course, in order to catch such a dangerous predator, the snake must be appropriate - ordinary 6-meter anacondas cannot do this. In addition, for lunch, many waterfowl and birds, as well as other snakes, often come to her - a case is known when an anaconda strangled and swallowed a 2.5-meter python. They also eat such anacondas without the slightest twinge of conscience - the fittest survives.
There is a misconception that the largest snake in the world flattens its victims, breaking bones and damaging internal organs... This is not true. The hugs of the anaconda are not aimed at breaking and crippling their food - it is enough for the victim that the access to oxygen is completely blocked by immobilizing the chest and the whole body, so that all animals caught by the anaconda die from suffocation.
In the wild, the adult anaconda is practically safe - only a few jaguars and caimans can handle it, but this is very rare. Young individuals die en masse from the teeth of various predators.
The largest snake in the world is often mentioned in many books and even became the main negative "character" of a whole series of Hollywood thrillers of the same name.

Belongs to the class of reptiles, the squamous detachment, the family - boas, the genus - anaconda. It is a reptile creature that has no legs. It is believed that the ancestors of snakes were primitive lizards, which appeared eighty million years ago. During the evolutionary period, they lost their limbs. Apparently, therefore, 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 whose size is much larger than their head.

Thanks to Hollywood and Jennifer Lopez. Today the famous film "Anaconda" was probably not watched only by a very lazy person. In that movie, the snake is represented as a terrible man-eating monster. In fact, it is very far from reality. So is the attack on a man from the top of the trees. Anacondas are too heavy for such a hunt.

There are 4 types of anacondas.

Bolivian Anaconda (Eunectes beniensis) - Bolivia
Dark Anaconda (Eunectes deschauenseei) - Brazil
Green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) - Amazon and Orinoco river basins
Yellow Anaconda (Eunectes notaeus) - Argentina and Paraguay.

Anaconda is considered the largest snake in the whole world.

Its average body length can reach 10 m. The weight of these creepers is up to 250 kg. The parameters of the largest anaconda that was caught by a man were: 11 m 43 cm.
What is anaconda like?

Its body is brownish-green with brownish spots. Anacondas live in rainforest in the South of America. They feel comfortable in the wet riverside forests and swamps, where the most best placesfor a great hunt. The anaconda boa spends most of its time in water bodies, camouflaging in gray-green waters, where brown leaves and algae swim. In such places, the snake is inconspicuous and, hiding, awaits the victim going to the watering place.

Anaconda

Anaconda is absolutely not a poisonous snake

Its main weapon is the ability to strangle prey by wrapping itself around it in numerous rings. She grabs the victim with sharp teeth, twists around her with her body, pulling chest animal, until it stops breathing. After this procedure, the anaconda turns the prey with its head towards itself and swallows it, "putting on" the victim's carcass in the form of a stocking.

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

Anaconda

Anaconda

Surely you have heard horror stories about anacondas or watch terrifying shots from films more than once. But in reality, these cases are extremely rare.

Anaconda does not attack people

Because he knows that prey of this size may be too tough for her. However, there are documents in which evidenced cases of killing a teenager by a snake. Amazonian hunters, as soon as they see an anaconda, do not lose the opportunity to kill it.