Anaconda
Anaconda (snake) is the common name for large South American snakes that kill by squeezing prey. Anacondas are among the largest and most powerful snakes in the world. Female anacondas grow bigger than males and can reach enormous size, ranking as the heaviest of all snakes. Anacondas spend much of their time in water. They hunt reptiles and mammals, as well as fish and birds. The biggest anacondas can swallow prey as large as caimans or deer. They rarely attack humans.
The name anaconda is said to come from a Tamil word meaning “elephant killer,” originally used for pythons in Sri Lanka. Local names for the snakes in South America include the Spanish term matatoro, meaning “bull killer,” and the Native American terms sucuri, yakumama, and jibóia. Anacondas are members of the boa family and are sometimes called water boas.
Habitat and Range; Anacondas live mainly in wet tropical regions with marshes, lakes, or rivers. They will also move into areas that flood during part of the year such as the llanos (treeless prairies) found in Venezuela and Colombia. In some regions, they use caves under tree roots along river banks as a shelter during the dry season or droughts.
Anacondas are only found in South America east of the Andes. The four species have combined ranges from Venezuela south to Argentina. The green anaconda is found through much of the Amazon River basin, as well as in the Orinoco River basin and parts of the Guiana region, and on the island of Trinidad. The yellow anaconda is found further south, through the Paraná and Uruguay river basins from Bolivia and southern Brazil into Paraguay and Argentina. The dark-spotted or de Schauensee’s anaconda lives in parts of northeastern Brazil and French Guiana. The Bolivian anaconda is mainly restricted to Bolivia.
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The largest country in South America and the fifth largest country in the world.