The discovery of the world’s largest Anaconda has excited scientists.
In early March 2024, a team of scientists from the University of Queensland (Australia) announced the discovery of the world’s largest Anaconda, a creature that has existed for nearly 10 million years, with the assistance of the local Huaorani people from the Amazon region of Ecuador while filming the documentary “Pole to Pole with Will Smith” for National Geographic.
Professor Bryan Fry, the project leader, along with other scientists studying this giant snake, captured stunning photographs of this rather intimidating creature.
Below is a comprehensive photo collection of the Northern Green Anaconda discovered in the Orinoco basin of the Amazon.
(Photo: Professor Bryan Fry and colleagues).
Professor Bryan Fry told USA TODAY (USA) that the invitation from Huaorani chief Penti Baihua to enter the Baihuaeri Huaorani Territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon was “one of the few invitations accepted since this tribe first made contact with outsiders in 1958.”
(Photo: Professor Bryan Fry and colleagues).
“The size of these beautiful creatures is truly astonishing,” Professor Fry stated in a press release in early March 2024. “One female Anaconda we encountered measured an incredible 6.3 meters long.”
(Photo: Professor Bryan Fry and colleagues).
Professor Fry’s team, along with the local Huaorani people, paddled downstream in the Bameno area, where they found “several Anacondas lurking in shallow waters, waiting for prey.”
(Photo: Professor Bryan Fry and colleagues).
Subsequently, the team captured several specimens of this new Anaconda species and named them Northern Green Anaconda (Eunectes akayima) – the largest green Anaconda ever recorded on Earth.
(Photo: Professor Bryan Fry and colleagues).
Professor Fry pointed out that the key to understanding this discovery relates to location. The Amazon has two distinct basins. The larger southern basin is home to the Southern Green Anaconda, while the smaller northern basin is home to the newly discovered Northern Green Anaconda.
(Photo: Professor Bryan Fry and colleagues).
(Photo: Professor Bryan Fry and colleagues).
The professor shared that the genetic difference between the Northern and Southern Green Anacondas is 5.5%. For comparison, the genetic difference between humans and chimpanzees is 2%.
(Photo: Professor Bryan Fry and colleagues).
Although Professor Fry’s team’s findings are remarkable, the local Huaorani people reported that there are other Anacondas in the area that are gigantic, “over 7.5 meters long and weighing around 500 kg.”
(Photo: Professor Bryan Fry and colleagues).
To date, scientists have identified four species of Anaconda, with the largest – the Green Anaconda – inhabiting tropical regions of South America such as the Amazon, Orinoco, and Esequibo river basins, as well as some smaller basins.
These snakes, found in rivers and wetlands of South America, are known for their lightning-fast speed and ability to constrict prey by coiling around them, suffocating and swallowing them whole.
(Photo: Professor Bryan Fry and colleagues).
According to researchers, this discovery is crucial for the conservation of the Anaconda, a top predator that plays a significant role in maintaining balance in its ecosystem.
Scientists state that a healthy Anaconda population indicates a vibrant ecosystem with abundant food sources and clean water. Conversely, a decline in the number of these snakes could signal environmental degradation.
Independent (UK) reports that the Anaconda species and their habitats are increasingly threatened due to land fragmentation caused by agricultural and industrial human activities, as well as heavy metal pollution related to oil spills; and disasters such as wildfires, droughts, and climate change.
