THE PROVINCE (Vancouver, British Columbia) 29 March 11 Aquarium's anaconda to mate or crush male (Sam Cooper)
The five-metre-long green anaconda has already shown a flair for dramatic entrances at the Vancouver Aquarium, but this morning life and death will literally be in the balance when a male mate -or potential victim -is introduced to her.
Marine biologist Andrea Cotter watched a bit nervously Monday when four aquarium workers released the rescued anaconda into its new home in the Graham Amazon gallery.
The snake quickly scaled a tree, and soon after tore out a limb that was too much for her 45 kilograms, falling with a thud into a shallow basin of water about two metres below.
The anaconda, rescued from a warehouse in Milwaukee, seemed to take the fall well and was warming up to her cell, which gave Cotter some confidence.
A "successful male breeder," which normally lives in the enclosure and was taken out so as to not crowd the female on her first day, will join her today. The pair will eventually mate -or the much larger female could try to eat or crush the male to death.
"They could eat each other, but we won't let that happen," Dennis Thoney, Vancouver Aquarium's director of animal operations, said Monday. "We will make sure they're well fed before they get together. We're hoping they hit it off."
Cotter said "preparing for the worst" means about five employees will be at the ready to jump into the snake pit and try to disentangle them if they try to crush each other.
If the pair mate, they will roll up into a ball that will be more about fighting than loving, Cotter said.
"They don't mate for pleasure like dolphins or people do," Cotter said.
"He has to wrap her up to keep her there and it could take up to a week. They might roll around a bit, but they are basically fighting each other and using tremendous amounts of energy."
The green anaconda is "pound for pound" the largest snake in the world, and can grow up to nine metres, according to some reports, he said.
It lives in swamps, marshes and slow-moving streams, mainly in the tropical rainforests of the Amazon.
Male and female anacondas don't usually coexist, but when a female lays down a pheromone trail, multiple males will swarm toward her.
She can give birth to anywhere from 20 to 40 snakes, a typical litter, to as many as about 100.
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THE PROVINCE (Vancouver, British Columbia) 29 March 11 Aquarium staff hope sparks fly for massive snakes (Sam Cooper)
Like a couple of shy teens at a high-school dance, a giant female green anaconda and a slightly less-giant male stuck to opposite sides of a watery cell when they were introduced for a first blind date Tuesday.
The female, all five metres of her, zipped from her perch in a tree at the back of the cell and splashed straight into a pool of water soon after the male was let back into his home in the Graham Amazon gallery at the Vancouver Aquarium.
The female was rescued from a warehouse in Milwaukee, and given all day Monday to get accustomed to the new cell.
Aquarium staff are hoping the pair will mate, but are ready to separate them if they attack and try to eat each other.
On Tuesday morning, marine biologist Andrea Cotter said the pair looked relatively relaxed as they both settled into corners a few metres apart underwater.
The male seemed very cautious -slowly sniffing the female's scent before she splashed into the water -but aquarium staff believe the pair will eventually get together, for better or worse, since the male has a history as a "successful breeder."
It's not known whether the female has ever mated, but if she took a dislike to the male, she would surely overpower him, Cotter said.
Both snakes were fed several rabbits about a week ago, which means they are unlikely to be hungry enough to attack
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