The first ever field study of the anaconda - the dreaded predator snake - has revealed a number of fascinating facts about the reptile's habits
THE anaconda - the world's largest
snake - carries the notorious reputation in folklore of being a monstrous,
man-eating reptile that exhumes poisonous gases. It is also known to hypnotise
its human victims. The species (Eunectes
murinus) is found throughout South
America's Orinoco and Amazon river
basins. Scientists are now trying to
untangle fact from fiction with the help
of results from what they say is the first
field study on the animal.
Researchers from the Wildlife
Conservation Society in New York,
headed by conservation biologist John
Thorbjarnarson, are studying the creatures in a ranch called Hato El Cedral in
Venezuela's illanos (savannas). They are
conducting the study along with biologists from Venezuela's wildlife department, Profauna. Although the study is
still in the initial stages, some interesting
facts regarding the behaviour of the reptile have come to light. For instance, the act of mating involves a single female
and about a dozen smaller males, in
what is termed as a mating ball. This
behaviour has put the scientists in a
quandary as to which male ought to be
associated with the offspring. Jesus
Rivas, an ecologist at the University of
Tennessee in Knoxville, us, is working
out the paternity problem through DNA
tests.
Another fascinating facet of the
snakes is that inspite of being super
predators, they are sometimes a bit
reckless in their ways. Although they
normally feed on docile ducks, they
could encounter 'dangerous' food too.
The anacondas typically subdue their
victims by squeezing them with a vice-
like grip and then asphyxiating or
drowning them. It is the practice of
swallowing prey that gives rise to problems. Anacondas usually swallow the
prey's head first, but could get injured if
the victim struggles to free itself.
According to Thorbjarnarson, the
appetites of some snakes outstrip their
intellect. For instance, he has observed a
dead deer Whose antlers bore marks of
the anaconda's teeth. Apparently, the
snake ma@e an unsuccessful attempt at
swallowing the deer's head first but then
gave up because of its antlers. It is also
known that some snakes have ripped
themselves into two halves, while trying
to swallow@ turtles with razor-sharp
carapace (upper shell). Though it is
rumoureei,that anacondas can eat
humans, there is as yet no scientific evidence to prove the same.
The study also revealed that a pregnant female eats little or nothing and
still bears 78 or more offspring. In order
to study the range of these
snakes, the anacondas were
tagged with radiotransmitters. It was found that during
the dry season, the snakes
roamed a fixed area, which
they visited each year. Males
and non-pregnant females
were found in an area roughly
measuring 20 ha. The pregnant female was content with
remaining rather sedentary,
till the time she delivered her
young ones.
Biologists involved in the
study are also devising ways
and means to control and
subdue the anacondas which
are to be transported to
laboratories for study.
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