Animals
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Life in the Forest

Life in the River

The Insect World

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Boa constrictor

Snakes

The Anaconda

The anaconda is the world's largest snake. The longest length recorded is 11.4 metres (37 ft) – or about the same length as a large bus. Unconfirmed reports claim that it gets even bigger, though this has never been proven. The Anaconda is a venomless boa constrictor which kills by wrapping itself around its prey and squeezing so hard that the unfortunate animal cannot breathe. Early Spanish settlers also used to refer to it as the matatoro, or "bull killer". In theory, an anaconda can get big enough to eat a bull, but there are no confirmed reports of this ever actually happening.

Anacondas spend most of their time in or around the water, and often rest in rivers with their head above the water, waiting for a luckless bird or animal to pass by. After strangling its victim, the anaconda swallows it under water. The anaconda preys on animals such as capybara, small deer, peccaries, tapir, fish, birds, and (occasionally) caiman. They have sometimes been known to attack jaguars, and even humans, swallowing them whole. Once the animal stops struggling, the anaconda releases its grip, then proceeds to swallow the animal head first. Like most snakes, the anaconda can unhinge its jaws to swallow animals bigger than itself. In the water, the anaconda is extremely agile and flicks its tongue constantly, using its sense of taste to find out information about its environment.

It takes an anaconda several days (and perhaps even a week) to digest a large animal. During this period it is extremely docile, and just spends its time basking in the sun along a riverbank. Anacondas can sometimes also be found in trees close to the water's edge.