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Anaconda rampant sur une piste en latérite - Région de Kaw, Guyane © PlanetNoé - Thierry Montford

The green anaconda

The green anaconda, Eunectes murinus, is a species of constrictor snake from the Boidae family. It is also called the "great anaconda", "giant anaconda" and "Barbour anaconda".

Profile

Class, order and family :
Reptilia, Squamata, Boidae
Life span :
up to 25 years
Size & Weight :
6 - 8 m for females and 3 - 5 m for males, 70-100 kg
Gestation period :
6-7 months, 20-50 baby anacondas
Natural habitat :
lakes, swamps, slow-moving rivers
Diet :
carnivore – rodents, birds, sometimes pet animals
Native region :
Amazonia
Statut UICN : 

Not Evaluated (NE)

Lifestyle

Young anacondas hunt from trees, but adults lie in wait in water, with just their eyes and nostrils poking up above the surface. They drown their prey as well as crushing it. Like most snakes, the green anaconda can unhinge its jaws and swallow animals as big as a goat. It digests slowly, which makes it vulnerable to its predators.

Distinctive features

It is the heaviest snake in the world, even though it is not the longest.

Anecdote

Humans do not feature among its prey and no attack has ever actually been verified.