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Anaconda Snakes had hitherto been largely ignored as a species, despite their conspicuous size, from the academic viewpoint. It was only Dr J. A. Rivas’s path-breaking explorations and studies on the green anacondas in the Venezuela region that somewhat pierced the awesome veil of the anaconda snake, indisputably the largest of all the world’s snakes. Moreover, Anacondas have been a tantalizing and recurring subject for several popular films churned out by Hollywood. These naturally served less to educate the mass viewer and more to amaze and enthrall the lay person with the sheer size, dangerous mode of capture, and the brute force of the anacondas.

As a result, it becomes difficult to quite sift fiction from myth, segregate myth from fact, and distinguish fact from fiction. Let’s discuss certain salient facts pertaining to anacondas and get rid of a few contradictory beliefs spawned by fiction and myths in the process.

Can an anaconda snake be over 60 meters {150 feet} in length? Not quite likely. However, tall claims made by natives merrily narrate alleged sightings of 125-150 feet-long anacondas. Such tales are obviously to be taken with a pinch of salt. The longest anaconda snake that has been measured and documented was about 28 feet in length. However, this fact need not detract an iota from the usual awe associated with the anaconda snakes.

Are anacondas venomous and kill their preys with lethal poison? Not at all! The anaconda snakes have no venom at all. But before you begin to consider choosing the anaconda snake as a domestic pet, bear in mind that we are referring to the world’s biggest snake. Moreover, anacondas require no poison to best a prey. The anaconda snakes wrap their bodies around their preys’ and squeeze hard until the victims dies of sheer suffocation.

Do anacondas really gobble humans up alive and whole? The anaconda snake does devour its prey whole, its head first. Anacondas lack teeth, and it is up to powerful juices within their stomachs to break & digest their food. Hypothetically, an anaconda snake could gulp down a human, but they normally live submerged in remote marshes and swamps. Of course, if a stray unfortunate human has met with such a gory end, he has not lived to tell the tale.

Can anacondas swallow a whole hippopotamus? Not an adult-sized one, but yes, the anaconda snake is large enough to possibly swallow a baby hippo in a single gulp.

Do anacondas give birth to about a hundred babies at a time? Not by a far sight! The female anaconda snake gives birth to 20 to 40 live babies at a time. They are called neonates, and learn to fend for themselves within hours of their birth.

Do anaconda snakes live for over a hundred years? Wrong again! It seems the mere size of the anacondas invites only superlative expectations from people in their regard. Anacondas normally have a life span of between 10 and 30 years.

So, we see that the anacondas have their mammoth size, but most myths around anaconda snakes are at a considerable tangent from the truth. However, a worrisome fact about the anaconda snake is that today it is an endangered species, and if the consumer demand for its skin products does not decline, the anaconda snake may be on its way to becoming irrevocably extinct.

To experience anacondas for real, visit our Anaconda Videos section for watching real life anacondas in action.