Big snake... that will make you squeamish like Indiana Jones

Goonie

New member
Saw a very short clip of this on the news the other day. Ogopogo? Loch Ness? Nope. Giant Anaconda... that appears to have ate something. The Brazilian fisherman must think he's Steve Irwin because he grabs it by the tail... :eek:

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This video made me feel squeamish, like Indy. I'd be shrieking like the woman in the boat. :sick: :whip: :eek:
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Unlike what a certain lame movie series tells us, those things are known to be pretty docile - unless they're hungry.

And even then, none have been known to swallow a boat. Still, I don't consider that a very smart thing to do - goofing around in a small boat like that. If the snake had decided to yank and the guy would have lost his footing and go overboard... then it would have been the critter that suddenly has the home field advantage.
 

jsarino

New member
Finn said:
Unlike what a certain lame movie series tells us, those things are known to be pretty docile - unless they're hungry.

Since most of us won't know when it's docile or hungry, I will steer clear. *shudders*
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
jsarino said:
Since most of us won't know when it's docile or hungry, I will steer clear.
Yeah, me too. But apparently that fellow in the vid did all right.

As a related, broader note, it's kinda funny what people do because they don't want to be labeled as chickens. It's especially prominent in the Latin American "macho" culture. However, the thing is... there are plenty of things in this world that are perfectly understandable to be afraid of. It's not shameful at all. On the contrary, from the perspective of the survival instinct granted to (most of) us - it's nothing but rational.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Finn said:
Unlike what a certain lame movie series tells us, those things are known to be pretty docile - unless they're hungry.

Docile is the wrong word choice.

This video makes me cringe. It's stupid people doing stupid things with nature, and the only reason at least of them isn't dead is because the snake had recently fed. All of its energy is going to go towards breaking down (read: digesting) its prey, and it was only interested in escape. Yet, these maroons proceed to harangue it. I kept hoping one of them would bite it.

Fun fact: It'll take the snake between three and five days to completely digest that meal. It'll probably be another month before it eats again.

Finn said:
And even then, none have been known to swallow a boat. Still, I don't consider that a very smart thing to do - goofing around in a small boat like that. If the snake had decided to yank and the guy would have lost his footing and go overboard... then it would have been the critter that suddenly has the home field advantage.

A quick visual glance puts that anaconda at ~13 feet. That would give it a comfortable striking range of ~3-to-4 feet on land, less in the water where it would act more like a crocodile. Either way one of those people would have wound up dead if the snake wasn't pre-occupied.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Le Saboteur said:
Docile is the wrong word choice.

This video makes me cringe. It's stupid people doing stupid things with nature, and the only reason at least of them isn't dead is because the snake had recently fed. All of its energy is going to go towards breaking down (read: digesting) its prey, and it was only interested in escape. Yet, these maroons proceed to harangue it. I kept hoping one of them would bite it.
The thing is, they don't behave aggressively unless they need to feed. Like most wild animals, they simply wish to avoid other creatures in a situation like that.

So either that guy pestering it is a complete idiot - or seasoned enough to see that the snake is in a state it's unlikely to do anything (and when I say "unlikely", I don't mean "guaranteed"), deciding it's worth the odds to show some machismo. Which I call stupid in itself.

I move through the wilderness quite a bit, and while we don't have 15-foot-long snakes or anything else that would make a man comparably squeamish, I make a point of not harassing any wild animals I run across, save for occasions when I might be specifically hunting for them. And that includes even those which are known to be perfectly harmless towards humans.
 
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