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| About Green Anaconda, Shadow Predators in the Amazon Jungle |
About Green Anaconda, Shadow Predators in the Amazon Jungle. When talking about giant snakes, then one of the most famous names is anaconda. This South American snake is very famous.
Not only because of its enormous size, but also because the snake was appointed in the horror-themed movie Anaconda in 1997. The combination of these two things makes people both amazed and horrified when they hear the name anaconda.
About Green Anaconda, Shadow Predators in the Amazon Jungle
There are four species of snakes called anacondas and all belong to the genus Eunectes. But according to the title of my article, this article will only review green anaconda or in scientific language it is called eunectes murinus.
The most popular anaconda species which is also the largest snake species in the world in terms of diameter and weight. All anaconda species are found only in South America, particularly in the Amazon jungle.
It is interesting to note that the name anaconda comes from the Sinhala or Tamil languages. There are two ethnic groups who in fact come from Sri Lanka, Asia.
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| About Green Anaconda, Shadow Predators in the Amazon Jungle |
According to one theory, the name anaconda comes from the Sinhala henacandaya which means snake whip.
Meanwhile, according to another theory, the name anaconda comes from the Tamil language anaikkonda which means killing an elephant. In Brazil itself, anaconda is better known as a sucuriuba.
The green anaconda is estimated to grow up to 12 meters long and weigh up to 250 kilograms. There are also testimonies that state that green anacondas can grow to tens of meters in length.
But so far, the largest green anaconda specimen measures just 5.2 meters long and weighs 97.5 kilograms when measured.
Shorter than the Python reticulatus specimen from East Borneo which has a length of 6.9 meters. However, it is heavier because the Python reticulatus snake specimen weighs less than 60 kilograms.
Green anaconda hobbies are ambushing and sunbathing
The anaconda's large body made it unable to move quickly on the ground. It doesn't matter because this snake can swim freely when in the water.
The green anaconda also has eyes and nostrils located at the top of the head so that this snake can peek at the atmosphere on land while still hiding its body in the water.
Apart from the eyes, green anacondas can also detect the presence of prey by detecting odors, vibrations and body heat.
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| About Green Anaconda, Shadow Predators in the Amazon Jungle |
If the green anaconda has found its prey, it will immediately approach the prey position calmly. Then, suddenly the giant snake would ambush and wrap its body so that its prey died due to difficulty breathing.
Green anacondas can also drag their prey into the water and drown it. Due to their large size, green anacondas can prey on large animals.
Starting from monkeys, turtles, birds, capybara, and even crocodiles. In rare cases, green anacondas have also been known to attack humans.
The green anaconda has elastic jaw muscles so it can swallow large prey without chewing it. Since green anacondas are cold-blooded animals that require only a few calories, green anacondas can live for weeks without food after eating large prey.
And when it comes to cold-bloodedness, green anacondas have a sunbathing habit to increase their body temperature. Sunbathing occurs more frequently in the rainy season due to lower average ambient temperatures.
Green Anaconda Turns out cannibals prey on their own species
The green anaconda breeding season takes place in the local dry season, aka from March to May. When the mating season arrives, male anacondas will actively seek female candidates to mate.
It is not uncommon for male to find female with other male. If this is the case, the male anaconda will wrestle around the female's body for a chance to access the female's cloaca and channel sperm.
The number of male fighting over female can be in the tens. Male and female green anacondas differ in size because the female can be up to five times the size of the male.
Green Anaconda Videos
As a result, after mating, female anacondas often eat their mating partners. Even though it looks cruel, this habit is useful for giving female energy before fasting when they are pregnant with eggs.
Green anaconda is an ovoviviparous animal, meaning that the snake lays eggs, but the eggs are stored in the body until they hatch. The gestation period for a female green anaconda is about seven months.
The female anaconda releases the baby in shallow water. The number of babies born varies from twenty to eighty-two.
The bigger the size of the female anaconda, the more babies she can produce. The newborn green anaconda must live independently and feed on its own.
The age of sexual maturity for green anaconda is between 3 and 4 years. A green anaconda is thought to be thirty years old.
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| About Green Anaconda, Shadow Predators in the Amazon Jungle |
Despite their large stature, the green anaconda is not an animal without enemies. Young and male anacondas that are small in stature are vulnerable to being eaten by crocodiles, jaguars, and even the larger anacondas.
If attacked while on land, the green anaconda will roll itself into a ball to protect its head. Green anaconda can also produce an unpleasant odor by removing fluid from the glands in the cloaca.
Another threat to green anacondas comes from humans. The large size of the green anacondas and the frequent attacks on livestock are reasons for local residents to kill them.
Not only that, green anaconda is also widely hunted to be traded as pets and consumed as traditional medicine.
The depletion of rainforest areas is also a threat to green anaconda populations in the wild. Although it is not an endangered animal, real action is still needed so that these giant reptiles do not disappear from the face of the earth.
By: Ochie
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