How Do Anacondas Work?

The amphibious anaconda is arguably the biggest snake in the world. Learn how it works in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/snakes/anaconda.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain
Stuff Lauren Volga Bam here. All snakes can swim, though
some are better at it than others. One of the
most powerful species alive today is the green anaconda, perfectly
at home and the rivers and swamp lands of the Amazon.
It's got eyes that face upward like a crocodiles, allowing

(00:24):
the creature to scan muddy banks for prey, concealing its
muscular coils below the water surface. That's why anacondas are
also called water boas the shoe fits, or it would
if they had any feet. Apart from the green anaconda,
science recognizes three other species, the yellow anaconda, the darkly

(00:44):
spotted anaconda, and the Bolivian anaconda. All four belong to
the Boa family, and they're all South American natives by
every metric, though the green anaconda stands out. Not only
is it the biggest member of the water Boa quartet,
but it's arguably the biggest snake in the world. Yet
trying to pin down the animal's maximum size is fraught

(01:06):
with challenges. Folklore is packed with stories about monster snakes
extending a hundred feet or thirty meters long. The fossil
record tells us that a colossal serpent really did slither
across the continent sixty million years ago, Named Titanaboa, it's
thought to have reached fifty feet that's fifteen meters in
overall length, and to have weighed approximately two and a

(01:28):
half tons. But the long and short of it is
that green anacondas are nowhere near that size. A common
length for this species is about twenty feet or six meters,
although male anaconda's, being the smaller of the two sexes,
rarely exceed thirteen feet or four meters. The biggest anaconda
ever reliably documented was twenty seven point two feet that's

(01:52):
eight point three meters long. Yet rumors of anaconda's growing
two or three times larger persist, and some claims hinge
on enormous skins cut from dead snakes. The problem is
those are really easy to distort, even if you're not
trying to Herpetologist William H. Lamar proved this point in
ninety eight when he killed a wild anaconda of ample size.

(02:15):
The freshly slaying corpse was a respectable twenty four point
six ft or seven and a half meters long After
he skinned the reptile, Lamar measured its disembodied hide. Despite
his best efforts, he couldn't avoid stretching out the skin
as he worked, which gave it a post mortem length
of thirty four point six feet or ten and a
half meters. The biggest and bulkiest green anaconda can weigh

(02:37):
four hundred and forty pounds that's two hundred kilos or
more so. As a species, it's considered the world heaviest snak,
but not necessarily the longest lengthwise, the Asian reticulated python
probably hasn't beat. According to the New Encyclopedia of Snakes
by one Chris Madison, there have been several authenticated reports

(02:58):
of these pythons measure about twenty eight feet that's eight
and a half meters from end to end. But back
to anaconda's they have an affinity for slow moving rivers,
muddy swamps, and seasonally flooded plains. They seldom venture far
away from flowing or standing water, although some species may
choose to hunt in forests on occasion. And not only

(03:20):
did the snakes have eyeballs situated on the tops of
their heads, but their nostrils are also located in this region. Thus,
a swimming or soaking anaconda can easily see and spell
what's going on above the water, which makes finding and
capturing prey a whole lot easier. Anaconda's killed by constriction,
using their jaws to seize the victim before immobilizing it

(03:41):
by tightly wrapping the animal in coils of their own body,
and naturalists used to think that snakes that use this
technique wereb in effect strangling their prey. However, according to
new research involving the red tailed boa, the real cause
of death is cardiac arrest. Wild anaconda's feed online for
dead fish, lizards, birds, bird eggs, other snakes, and a

(04:04):
variety of mammals. Adults have been known to swallow up caymans,
which are feisty crocodilians related to alligators. Another notable beast
often eaten by large anacondas is the capybara, Earth's biggest rodents.
Capybaras are shaggy, infamously friendly, web footed herbivores that stand
about one and a half feet that's half a meter tall.
Being amphibious, capybaras regularly cross paths with anacondas, and the

(04:28):
mammals know how to put up a fight. Older anacondas
sometimes display bite wounds left by capybaras that they've attacked.
And for green anacondas anyway, and for green anacondas anyway,
cannibalism isn't out of the question. At least four cases
have been observed. At this point, you may be wondering
if people are on the menu too. There's little doubt

(04:50):
that a sufficiently big green anaconda could kill and eat
a human being, yet no such incident has ever been
confirmed that said anaconda's, like most creatures, will defend themselves
if cornered. While none of these snakes are venomous, they
can inflict deep bite wounds. The snakes may also secrete
a foul smelling liquid when distressed. Probably just don't mess

(05:13):
with them. Among reptile keepers, anacondas aren't nearly as popular
as red tailed boas or big pythons. They need huge enclosures,
high humidity levels, and water dishes large enough for the
snakes to use as soaking pools and captive bread. Individuals
that have been handled all of their lives do tend
to be more docile than anacondas captured in the wild.

(05:34):
Even so, you shouldn't get an anaconda of any species
unless you're an experienced reptile hobbyist who understands large constrictors.
In twelve, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service banned
the importation and interstate transport of the yellow anaconda. Growing
up to fifteen feet that's four and a half meters long.
This snake could potentially threaten all sorts of native species,

(05:57):
and as the US Geological Survey report, free ranging yellow
anacondas have been sighted in Florida and Arkansas. Those snakes
were most likely former pets. Anacondas don't belong in the
Everglades or the Arkansas Delta, but in their natural habitat,
these reptiles are fascinating to watch. During the breeding season,
several male anacondas may attempt to mate with a single

(06:19):
female at the same time, the result being a breeding
ball with as many as thirteen love lorn male snakes
vying for attention around the lone female. Like most BoA's,
anacondas give birth to live young, with litters containing anywhere
from four to eighty two baby snakes, and we now
know the green anacondas don't necessarily need mates to get pregnant.

(06:41):
In one female kept at a British reptile park birth
three live babies, even though she had never been kept
with a male of her species. A near identical situation
unfolded at the New England Aquarium in twenty nineteen, known
as parthenogenesis. This style of a sexual reproduction has also
been observed in commodo dragons and Burmese pythons. Today's episode

(07:10):
is based on the article the Watery World of the
Monster Anaconda on how stuffworks dot Com, written by Mark Mancini.
Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership
with how stuff Works dot Com is produced by Tyler Clang.
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