Anaconda Facts - 14 facts about green anacondas

Green anacondas are the largest snakes in the world weighing in at 550 pounds or 227 kilograms. Although the reticulated python is longer, the girth of the Green Anaconda is almost double of that of the python. Green Anacondas are able to grow to more than 29 feet or 8.8 meters. When they breed, many different males will develop a breeding ball around a single female. This encounter can last up to four weeks before they separate. Green anacondas are a member of the boa family. They are found in swamps, slow moving streams and marshes in the Amazon rainforests. They move very slowly on land, but in water they move quickly and with stealth. On top of their heads are eyes and nasal openings which means they can lay submerged in water whilst waiting to pounce on their prey. They are consummate predators and carnivores that feed on Birds, Caimans, Capybaras, Jaguars, Deer and Wild Pigs amongst other prey. Green Anacondas use their senses to track the heat emitted by prey and have a strong sense of smell and very good eyesight. Female Green Anacondas will develop eggs in their body for between 8 to12 weeks and they will hatch whilst in the females body. She will give birth to up to 80 young. They can live over 10 years in the wild and up to 30 in captivity. They are non-venomous constrictors, that kill their prey by launching at them, gripping them with their jaws, coiling around them and constricting them, suffocating them until they die. Once their prey has been suffocated, Green Anacondas can go for weeks or even months without the need to eat a meal. When they give birth, they bear two to three young which measure about 2 feet or 0.6 meters long. They are able to swim immediately and will not be weaned by their mother as the young are able to hunt immediately.