IRISH EXAMINER (Cork, Ireland) 12 May 08 The lengths I will go to see a snake (Richard Collins)
Monica, the anaconda, is an enormous constrictor snake. The locals claim that she is 11 metres long, but this is surely an exaggeration. Seldom exceeding a length of eight metres, anacondas are the world’s heaviest snakes, but not the longest. A python, shot in Indonesia in 1912 and measuring 10 metres, is the longest snake ever recorded. I would not like to be the one to measure Monica; she is a formidable creature.
Anacondas live along the rivers, and in the swamps, of South America. The fishermen of the Parana river, which separates Brazil and Paraguay, became fearful of a particularly large one in their area. A posse was organised and Monica was captured. Accompanied by a retinue of park wardens and fishermen, she was taken to the Iguaçu Bird Park, where there is a reptile enclosure. There she remains in custody, fed and found, until the experts decide what to do with her. Sleeping peacefully in her compound, she resembles a large coil of electrical cable, about a quarter of a metre thick and military green in colour.
Anacondas are common in tropical South America, but you have to be lucky to glimpse one. Having just spent two weeks in prime anaconda habitat, the only one I saw was Monica, in her enclosure. The best way to find one in the wild, I was told, is to wade quietly through shallow, reed-filled areas, parting the vegetation as one goes. Any nearby snake will be encountered ‘up close and personal’. Dr Jesus Rivas, a Venezuelan snake expert, uses the method to catch anacondas for blood and tissue sampling. The approach did not appeal to me. It’s not that I’m a coward; I just don’t think it’s right to disturb the snakes. It is exceedingly rare for a person to be killed, but an anaconda will bite in self-defence.
Lying in wait, under cover, the huge snake seizes a passing animal in its mouth and quickly throws its coils around the hapless creature’s torso. Contrary to popular belief, a constrictor does not squeeze its victim to death. It waits for the animal to expel its breath and then closes around the contracted chest. The victim is unable to expand its rib-cage for the next breath. As it panics, it expels more air, and each time the snake takes up the slack, death results from suffocation. Sometimes the victim does not die, but becomes torpid and is swallowed alive. This happens when a caiman, the South American crocodile, is the victim. With their lower metabolism, caimans can go without oxygen for long periods, so they don’t suffocate easily.
Anacondas have teeth, but they don’t chew their food. The smothered victim is held fast by the teeth of one jaw, while the other slides forward for the next grip. The food is ‘walked’ slowly, in a zig-zag action, into the mouth. Then the lower jaw unhinges, expanding the gape tenfold, drawing the hapless creature down into the cold, wet vat of acid and digestive juices. Among the snake’s choice food items are deer and the capybara, a relative of the rat and the world’s largest rodent. About the size of a large dog, vaguely resembling an Airedale, these endearing creatures are easy to observe and easy for an anaconda to catch. A snake need not eat often; its low metabolic rate ensures that a large food item will keep it going for weeks or months.
The love life of anacondas is odd. Males converge on a receptive female and coil themselves lovingly around her. There can be up to a dozen suitors, the entangled mass of would-be lovers all rolled into a copulating ball. Mating is a slow process; the snakes can remain in the embrace for weeks. Courting a female anaconda is not for the fainthearted; she may devour some of her lovers. Their bodies provide extra nourishment helping her to get through the six-month gestation period, during which she won’t feed at all. Monica may become a permanent exhibit at the bird park or in a zoo. She would be happy either way; anacondas even breed in captivity.
The lengths I will go to see a snake

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