Yellow Anaconda

Behaviour

Anacondas snatch prey using their powerful jaws. They coil their body around the prey, constricting it by  squeezing their coils until it suffocates. Yellow Anacondas prefer to attack prey from the water and their victims often drown rather than suffocating.

These snakes will eat any vertebrate they can catch and swallow; this includes fish, amphibians, capybara and even other snakes. They swallow their prey whole and, as they can unhinge their jaws, are able to eat prey much larger than the size of their mouths would suggest. Large prey takes a long time to digest, so anacondas may not eat for weeks or months after a kill.

Courtship, which occurs between April and May, and usually takes place in water. Females produce a pheromone which attracts males. Many snakes often group together and form a breeding ball, which may stay together for a month . The males compete for the female, with the strongest and largest male often being the victor. Anacondas may give birth to up to 80 live young, which will be around 60cm long at birth.

Habitat

Yellow Anacondas live in swamps and rivers, and because they spend most of their life in or around water they are sometimes known as “Water Boas”. The name Eunectes is derived from the Greek word Eυνήκτης, which means “good swimmer”. They tend to float atop the water, with their snouts barely poking out above the surface.