THE ANACONDA, THE LARGEST SNAKE IN THE WORLD

  

This is a species of constrictor snake from the boa family, it is a reptile endemic to the tropical forests of South America, its scientific name is EUNECTES MURINUS is the largest snake in the world since it is much more voluminous and heavier than the python snake. Although there are 4 types of Anacondas, the most common is the dark green one, the most distinctive feature in anacondas is their snout, which is covered by 6 thick scales, three on each side of the snout.

  

Among the 4 types of anacondas we have: THE GREEN ANACONDA which is the largest of its species and is also the largest snake in the world given its enormous body mass reaching in its adult state 8 meters long and 130 kilograms in weight, THE YELLOW ANACONDA whose scientific name is EUNECTES NOTAEUS is smaller than the green one, this family of unique color is from the boidae family, THE BENI ANACONDA typical of the jungles of Bolivia and Peru its scientific name is EUNECTES BENIENSES in general they are brown but there are species that are dark olive green, on the back it has transverse bars and on its sides they have fewer black dots than the other anacondas and finally THE DARK-SPOTTED ANACONDA is another constrictor snake its scientific name is EUNECTES DESCHAUENSEII it has a pattern of dark spots on a brown or yellow background like all anacondas it is not poisonous.

  

In the jungle of Peru, Amazonian tribes have for centuries told the legend of a mythological being called YACUMAMA, which would be the mother of all snakes, recreated by the native people as a gigantic anaconda of colossal size that represents the protective spirit of the Amazon, which is capable of knocking down trees with its body and throwing jets of water with its enormous mouth, the legend says that the YACUMAMA can hypnotize and absorb any animal or human from a distance, to protect themselves from the Yacumama, indigenous people usually play a sacred horn before entering the water because in this way if there was a Yacumama in the river, it would reveal itself when hearing the music of the horn.

  

It is known that female anacondas are much larger than male anacondas and like other snakes it is edible, the natives usually remove the skin and the viscera (in the viscera they often have parasites dangerous for humans) on the other hand as it is not poisonous some native tribes raise them from small to protect their homes from plagues of rats and other wild rodents, anacondas live both in trees and in water, they prefer the backwaters of calm waters where they stalk their prey that go to the rivers to drink, they are expert swimmers and good climbers.

 

Anaconda reproduction is a very complex sexual process, where several males, attracted by the female anaconda's pheromones, compete with each other and tangle themselves around the female, forming a large ball. This can last several days and usually occurs between March and May, which coincides with the dry season in the Amazon rainforest. The anaconda's gestation period lasts between six and seven months, and during labor, the anaconda gives birth to between 20 and 40 young.