Anaconda

Perhaps the highlight of our Amazon River trip though was this 26 foot Anaconda. We skiffed into the rain forest and hiked into the bush for perhaps a couple of kilometers. Our guide knew of a swamp where he had seen Anacondas before however nothing was guaranteed.

On this day there were two giant snakes resting in the swamp. Incredible to see how huge these snakes are. And then to see them slowly slunk into the swamp is just crazy cool. It seems like they go forever.

Anacondas can grow to more than 29 feet, weigh more than 550 pounds, and measure more than 12 inches in diameter. Females are significantly larger than males.

Anacondas live in swamps, marshes, and slow-moving streams, mainly in the tropical rain forests of the Amazon and Orinoco basins. They are cumbersome on land, but stealthy and sleek in the water. Their eyes and nasal openings are on top of their heads, allowing them to lay in wait for prey while remaining nearly completely submerged.

Female anacondas retain their eggs and give birth to two to three dozen live young. Baby snakes are about 2 feet long when they are born and are almost immediately able to swim and hunt. Their lifespan in the wild is about ten years.

They reach their monumental size on a diet of wild pigs, deer, birds, turtles, capybara, caimans, and even jaguars. Anacondas are nonvenomous constrictors, coiling their muscular bodies around captured prey and squeezing until the animal asphyxiates. Jaws attached by stretchy ligaments allow them to swallow their prey whole, no matter the size, and they can go weeks or months without food after a big meal. National Geographic