ANACONDA, common name for a large South American snake of the boa family. The anaconda or water boa is one of the largest and most powerful snakes in the world, and the largest in the western hemisphere. It kills its prey by constriction, or squeezing. The reptile is found in the rivers of the Guianas and Brazil. The female anaconda gives birth to living young.
Average length is 20 ft. Average diameter is 12 in. Average weight is 330 lb. (148.5 kg.)
The anaconda lives in rain forests and river systems of the Amazon; it prefers swamps and sluggish streams. Its diet is aquatic and amphibious animals, mammals, fish, caiman, birds, ducks, and turtles. The anaconda is an excellent swimmer, but it also climbs on branches to dry off. . It is easily angered. It uses the water to rapidly escape predators and to conceal itself while searching for food. |
