So, what’s strange about the name of the anaconda snake? Quite simply, the fact that though anacondas predominantly occur in a certain part of the world, the origin of their name has been traced to the other extreme of the world. To elaborate, anacondas are found in the Amazon basin of South America. Yet their name appears to belong to a little-spoken language of the island-nation of Sri Lanka to the south of India.

It is interesting to ruminate on the likely etymological origin of the name anaconda of this formidable snake. On cursory reflection, two possible origins suggest themselves. The first is that the name was derived from the Tamil word anaikondran, which meant a killer of elephants. The other conjecture has been that the anacondas’ name has been drawn from the Tamil word annaikonda, which means one who has destroyed an elephant. It remains a matter of wonder how the name for a species could originate from a language and a land that is geographically as distant as Sri Lanka is from South America. However, it may be added that local variants of the anaconda snake’s names include the reference in Spain to the anaconda snake as matatoro or a killer of bulls. Besides, the Latin name Eunectes hails from the corresponding Greek name Euvnkcnc, which denotes an excellent swimmer.

The Sri Lankan national language, Sinhala, is spoken by nearly 15 million people. This language belongs to the Indo-Aryan family, together with Hindi and Urdu. The English language seems to contain only one more word from Sinhala. This word is ambarella, denoting a deciduous tree with an edible fruit. Boa constrictor snakes do exist in Sri Lanka. However, the boas of Asia have for decades been referred to as pythons, after a mythical Greek monster.  Hence, how and why the anacondas of South America came to be so named remains a matter of speculation and debate.

A plausible sequence of events resulting in the anaconda snakes being so christened occurs in the Oxford English Dictionary. Quite simply, it holds that the name was used for snakes from Ceylon {the former name of Sri Lanka}. It cites European museum records of the 17th century to state that initially at least, anacondas merely referred to snakes got from Ceylon, and literally meant a creature who squashed the bodies of buffaloes. By the dawn of the 19th century, however, the term began to be employed inexplicably and indiscriminately for the boas of South America. One might well conclude this with a poetic salute to the size of the anaconda snake, by rephrasing the famous poem lines as follows:

“What is in a name?
For that we call an anaconda
By any other name
Would remain as large.”

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There are two types of anaconda snakes, greenish-brown and yellow in color. Yellow anacondas are smaller in length {not exceeding 10-15 feet} than greenish-brown anacondas. Greenish-brown anacondas sport a double row of black oval spots on the back and smaller white markings on the sides. The female anacondas generally outweigh the male anacondas. Anacondas are chiefly found predominantly in the rivers and the rain forests of South America.

The average length of the anaconda snake is about 20-25 feet, its girth is about 13 inches in diameter, and it weighs around 150 kg or more. As per records, the biggest anaconda snake ever found was over 37 feet {11 meters} long. There may well be larger anacondas in existence.

Anaconda snakes are nocturnal and nonvenomous. Though the anacondas are snakes, they do not have fangs. Anacondas are so strong that they do not require venom to protect themselves from predators or to kill their preys. The anaconda snake kills its prey by squeezing and constriction. Anacondas are carnivorous in nature. It winds itself around its prey’s body and squeezes it, ultimately restricting respiration, and causing the prey to die of suffocation.

Anacondas feed on aquatic and amphibious animals such as fishes, small rodents, frogs, ducks {birds}, turtles and certain types of mammals such as sheep, deer, peccaries and dogs. The anaconda snake’s jaw can open wide enough to swallow animals larger in size than itself. Anacondas do not chew their food but swallow it whole. The prey is then digested with the help of sharp acids inside the anaconda snake’s stomach. After a sumptuous meal, the anacondas, just like other reptiles, rest for few days to some weeks depending upon the size of food.

The anacondas generally reach sexual maturity at about three-four years of age. The mating season for anaconda snakes commences with the rains. The female anaconda snake gives off a typical scent, which attracts the male anacondas in the vicinity. After a fierce contest, the strongest male anaconda snake gets to mate with the female anaconda snake. The anacondas’ couple may choose to stay together for several months. The gestation period in anacondas is about six months, after which the female anaconda snake gives birth to 20 to 80 living young snakes at one time The young anaconda snakes measure about two feet and can stay independent of their parents within hours after their birth.

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The green anacondas dwell mainly in the marshes and swamps in the Amazon and Orinoco basins of northern South America. Stealthy and sleek in the water, the anacondas manage to lie completely submerged in water because their eyes and nasal openings are located on the top of their heads.

The green anaconda snake belongs to the kingdom anamalia, phylum chordata, genus eunectes and species Eunectes murinus. Branded as the largest snake in the world, the green anacondas can grow to nearly 30 feet, and may weigh and measure more than 550 pounds and 12 inches respectively. The female anacondas are significantly larger than the males.

As the name suggests, the green anaconda snake is olive green in color, and contains black smudges running across the entire length of its body. The head of the green anaconda snake is narrower than the rest of its body and is characterized by a distinctive orange-yellow striping on either side. Apart from the above mentioned physical features, the green anacondas also have scales. There are claw-like spurs located on either side of the cloaca {the cavity into which the genito-urinary and digestive tracts of the anaconda snakes empty}. This is the only region of the green anaconda snake’s body that does not have scales, and which emits a musk with a foul odor that is poisonous to small organisms. Perhaps this is a mode whereby the green anaconda snake prevents leeches and ticks from attaching themselves to its cloaca. Analogous with the fingerprint of a human, the pattern of scales found along the yellow and black underside of the lower tail of the green anacondas is unique to each anaconda snake.

Green anaconda snakes are able to swallow preys that are much larger than their mouths as they are able to unhinge their jaws. Swallowing their prey head first, the anacondas’ muscles contract in waves as the process of swallowing occurs. The anacondas have a slow-acting digestive system, which usually takes days or weeks. A heavy meal can typically last the anaconda snake for several weeks or months.

The anaconda snakes are nonpoisonous and live on a diet of birds, deer, turtles, capybara, jaguars, caimans and wild pigs. The baby anacondas feed on fish, mice, rats, chicks and frogs. Confirmed reports also affirm that the green anaconda snake occasionally preys on jaguars and attacks humans too. The green anaconda snake would certainly not make a good domestic pet!

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he size to which the anaconda snakes could grow has long fascinated the many. Documented evidence records anacondas measuring as long as 10 meters or 25 feet, while other claims allege anaconda snakes as long as 30-45 meters or approximately 100-150 feet long to exist. The largest anaconda ever recorded was almost 28 feet long and had a girth of 44 inches. It was believed to weigh well over 500 pounds.

Anaconda snakes are meat-eating and active by night. Anacondas possess no venom, but kill their victims by tightly squeezing them until they cease to breathe. The anaconda snakes may also frequently simply drown their preys to death.
After mating, the female anaconda gives birth to live young, and leaves them to fend for themselves. The young anaconda snakes, called neonates, can care for themselves soon after birth. They eat small rodents, such as mice and rats, and baby birds, frogs and fish. Most of the 20 to 40 baby anaconda snakes that are born at one time manage to survive. The life expectancy of the anaconda snakes may range between 10 and 30 years.

An interesting extension of the anaconda snake’s method of vanquishing its preys may be found in military strategy. This is best exemplified in the Anaconda Plan. Obviously inspired by the unusual mode employed by the anaconda snakes to best their preys, this plan was drawn up by General Winfield Scott to end the American Civil War in favor of the North.  Briefly, the Anaconda Plan envisaged crippling the crucial lines of transport of economic goods as well as arms reinforcements to render the enemies weak and defenseless. Though the Anaconda Plan may not have been officially adopted by the Union, elements of it were employed throughout the course of the war, and proved decisive in determining its eventual outcome.

It is an oblique tribute to the strange awe that the anaconda snake evokes that its influence may be traced from the cinema to the realm of military strategy. This draws from the fact that anaconda snakes don’t employ venom to kill, but seemingly nullify the prey’s ability to fight. The anacondas may have become an endangered species today, but their hold on the popular imagination continues to reign supreme. Checkout our videos section for a huge collection of anaconda videos caught in action.

What is it that makes the anaconda snake both so awesome as well as appealing? Well, its sheer size, for starters. The anaconda snake is popularly believed to be capable of swallowing a hippopotamus alive! However, like most myths, this may not hold true, except perhaps for an infant hippopotamus. The forbidding anaconda snake came alive in mass consciousness largely as a result of the popular movie Anaconda. So, let’s rob the anaconda snakes of some of their mystery by briefly discussing a few of their features in the sections below.

The nomenclature of the anaconda snake may be obviously the best point to begin this piece with. So, the zoological classification of the anaconda snake may be spelt out as: Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata, Class Reptilia, Order Squamata (lizards and snakes), Suborder Serpentes, Family Boidae (constrictors), Genus Eunectes, and Species Murinus.
Quite as the other snakes, the anaconda snake is coldblooded, i.e. it acquires the same body temperature as the immediate environment around them. The anacondas continue to develop in size throughout their lives. The longest anaconda ever measured has been a whopping 37.5 feet (11.4 m) long. It appears certain that the unexplored wilderness must contain even bigger anacondas than have been verifiably observed by humans so far.

Anaconda snakes are usually greenish-brown, with a twin row of black oval smudges on the back and smaller white signs on their sides. The anaconda snake’s scaly skin glistens, but it is not wet to the touch. The nostrils of the anacondas are situated on the top of the snout, allowing the anaconda snakes to breathe easily while remaining underwater. The anacondas use the tongue for smelling. The anaconda snakes possess fangs, and lack teeth.

The Anaconda snakes are carnivorous and eat meat. They are also nocturnal, meaning they hunt mostly at night. Anacondas kill by constricting or squeezing the prey until it can no longer breathe. The anaconda has no venom, but is still lethal because it kills its prey by squeezing its body with its own powerful muscular body. Under such a vice-like grip, the prey is enabled neither breathing nor escape, and the result is almost instant death caused by asphyxia or internal bleeding. Occasionally, the anaconda snakes drown their preys.

The anacondas swallow the prey whole, gobbling up the victim’s head first. The anaconda snake’s upper and lower jaws are attached to each other with stretchable ligaments, which enable the snake to swallow animals much wider than itself. The anacondas, like other snakes, aren’t in the habit of chewing their food, but instead let the pungent acids in their stomachs digest it. The anaconda snakes eat a variety of wildlife. This includes various fishes, a species of crocodile called caiman, and some birds. Rodents like the capybara and agouti are also favorite games of the anacondas. After a particularly heavy meal, the anaconda snake can subsist without food for weeks on end.

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