Preadators Scale

The fifteeen largest known active predators, extinct or alive. Larger graphic here: http://bit.ly/124gg5A

Surviving South American MegaReptiles

In a recent blog I included artwork by Tim Morris depicting a "Sachamama" as a giant turtle. It seems that in certain Cryptozoological circles the name "Sachamama" has become attached to both a giant snake Cryptid and then again something much more mysterious, a "Snail Demon" known Archaeologically from old pottery in Peru at various dates probably between AD 600 and 1600 broadly. The actual name this design had originally was unknown. However the idea is that it was supposed to be a snakelike creature with a shell and snail-like tentacles attached to the head, Karl Shuker equates the creature to the Minhocao for that reason.

http://karlshuker.blogspot.com/2010/10/sachamama-snake-in-shell.html

 

 

Tim Morris' suggestion is that the "Snake with a shell" should be a giant turtle, and we can assume that it has mata mata turtle like growths on the head and throat. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mata_mata

 

 

 

 It would be of a type known as a Snakenecked turtle (Side-necked turtle), common in South America. It would presumably be a survival of the gigantic South American terrapin Stupendemys.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stupendemys 

 

 

Stupendemys was part of the same ecosystem that included Titanoboa and also the enormous alligatorid Purusaurus. Among other Cryptids mentioned by Harold T Wilkins in his books on the Secrets of Old South America is an enormous alligator with huge crushing jaws able to crunch up small boats and eat up the tough old gomparos as if they were nothing. I included this creature on my Amended Checklist of Unknown Animals. It would be at least ten meters long and allegations are it could get to twice that length "A Tremendous saurian from the age of the Dinosaurs"

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purussaurus

Then again many people think that Titanoboa itself lives on as the basis for stories of the Sucuriju Gigante (Museum display below, and then illustration "Titanoboa and Sucurijiu" from Deviant Art ) 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucuriju_Gigante

http://www.sites.si.edu/titanoboa/




 http://ancestorsrelic.deviantart.com/art/Titanoboa-and-Sucuriju-186137389

And as I have remarked before, the Black Boa, Barking Boa, Snorer (El Dormidor) or Mysterious Beast is a different kind of Cryptid from the Sucuriju Gigante, "Gigantic" more by virtue of its great thickness rather than because of its length (Gigantic by girth): It is also said to growl instead of hiss. 

The other possibility is that the Minhocao or the Snake in a Shell represents the supposedly extinct Glyptodon, a kind of a giant armadillo (and a mammal): however, most Cryptozoologists are against that idea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanoboa

Yacumama

Boater photographs legendary YACUMAMA - (100 Foot Anaconda) of the Amazon

Posted Saturday, October 19, 2013

 

http://muldersworld.com/photo.asp?id=6225

Boater photographs legendary YACUMAMA - (100 Foot Anaconda) of the Amazon.

The largest green anaconda accurately documented was 33 feet long. But in Brazil and Peru, there are thousands of reports of a legendary snake stretching 150 feet long. This is the legendary God of serpents known as Yacumama - MOTHER OF THE WATER.

Anacondas do not stop growing until they die. This means -avoiding serious illness or injury - an anaconda can very easily grow to monster sizes. The man who shot this picture claimed the serpent to be "easily over 50 feet long."

World-famous explorer Major Percy H. Fawcett’s speaks of a gigantic anaconda while traveling up the Amazon River:

“We stepped ashore and approached the reptile with caution. It was out of action, but shivers ran up and down the body like puffs of wind on a mountain tarn. As far as it was possible to measure, a length of 45 feet lay out of the water, and 17 feet in it, making a total length of 62 feet … such large specimens as this may not be common, but the trails in the swamps reach a width of six feet and support the statements of Indians and rubber pickers that the anaconda sometimes reaches an incredible size."

There is a follow-up picture here:
http://muldersworld.com/photo.asp?i...

Source: Mulder's World Facebook

http://muldersworld.com/photo.asp?id=6297

The Black Boa 'Mother of the Water' photographed in the Amazon (2nd Photo)

Posted Sunday, October 20, 2013

Mulder's World was buzzing yesterday after posting about YACUMAMA, 100 ft Anaconda. Previous post here: http://muldersworld.com/photo.asp?i...

You guys wanted more, so here you go. We hesitated on posting this pic due to the quality, but we were sent one that was a little better than our copy. Here are some fun littl...e tidbits:

• The Brazilian Boundary Commission documented a dead 80 foot anaconda.

• Many researchers theorize that the Yacumama is not a green anaconda but a hybrid.

• The indigenous people of the Amazon believe that the Yacumama fill up and shoot water out of it's mouth like a canon.

Source: Mulder's World Facebook

[The general category for such sightings as indicated by Bernard Heuvelmans is the Sucuriju Gigante, which is the name used for all giant anaconda sightings. Among such sightings, the name Black boa is really the name of  a secondary Cryptid category, but often as in these news notices the two categories are spoken of as if they were the same. At this point all that is necessary is to indicate that there is that difference.-DD]

Giant Anaconda Portrait

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris_harry/5120307917/sizes/l/in/photostream/

An illustration depicting the alleged encounter in the Amazon between Col. Percy H Fawcett's expedition and a giant Anaconda.
Ecozoo 21 months ago
Ow my .. this is what I was looking for ,a great, technical reproduction ,Artist impression of the famous account with the large Eunectes or Madtsoiid maybe what some believe, if is was all genuine the Perry Fawcett Snake is an absolute recordbreaker, but a little slim built,anyway there 's is a lot more proof today that heavy gigantic snakes more than 50 or even 60 feet ,did exist, and maybe this short ago ...who wil bring a sample of more physiological proof of the Sucuriji Gigante or the Bicha Grande ? ...

While this might have been intended as a representation of Fawcett's giant anaconda, the illustration is actually better for the OTHER giant snake Fawcett mentioned, the stout and dark-coloured Black Boa or El Dormidor, the "Snoring (or growling) Boa"

Another possible photograph of The Black Boa. The reports under this heading state that the creature  can grow as big as six feet thick but only about the same length of a big anaconda. The colouration is usually black and the surface texture is often said to be "Oily."

Daily Mail Giant Anaconda photos

A reader sent me notice of the article and said "The one photo of the big Anaconda out on land (not in the water) looks like your descriptions of the Black Boa," On the possibility he might be right, I am running the photos.

What lies beneath.... Diver braves the waters to swim with deadly 26-foot anaconda

• Swiss diver Franco Banfi went to the Mato Grosso region of Brazil to capture these amazing close-up of enormous anaconda snakes in their natural habitat

• These underwater beasts feed on rodents, birds and fish, lurking close to surface coiled and ready to strike

By Adam Shergold
PUBLISHED:08:05 EST, 9 November 2012| UPDATED:12:51 EST, 9 November 2012
It lurks just inches below the surface coiled and ready to strike - and yet you wouldn't know it was there.
These remarkable images show the enormous 26-foot (eight metre) anacondas of Mato Grosso in Brazil searching for prey in the murky depths.
They were captured by brave diver and snake enthusiast Franco Banfi, 53, who joined the beasts in their natural habitat armed only with a camera.

Ready to strike: Brave diver and snake enthusiast Franco Banfi captured this image of an enormous anaconda snake lurking beneath the surface of a river in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Hunting: This anaconda scans the surface of the water looking for prey such as mice, fish or birds

Enormous: This coiled anaconda was about eight metres in length. Swiss diver Franco Banfi captured the photographs on a ten-day visit to the Mato Grosso do Sul region in Brazil

In another shot, Banfi gets up close to a huge anaconda that is lying on the riverbank and glistening in the ferocious tropical heat.
Thankfully for the photographer, it had just gobbled up a capybara rodent and wasn't interested in devouring him as a second course.

More...

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• Caught behind bars! Sneaky squirrel gets trapped in a bird feeder after breaking in to fill up on peanuts
• You want to fight over this fish? Let's do this... heron now

Banfi, a father-of-two from Switzerland, said: 'As the snake had just eaten it didn't take much interest in us.
'Everything is possible but I don't think it would have eaten us. I was very close, I could have touched it if I wanted to.'

Time for your close-up: Banfi was able to reach out and touch this massive anaconda sunbathing on the riverbank having devoured a capybara rodent

He saw six different female anaconda snakes on his ten-day trip to the Mato Grosso do Sul region, right in the heart of South America.
The region is known for its diverse natural beauty and attracts thousands of visitors every year.
The name literally means 'Thick Forest of the South' and it's easy to see why.
Banfi added: 'At the first moment it's scary because you don't know the animal and everybody says it's dangerous.
'But after a while you understand that nothing happens if you respect the snake.
'I have never been so close to a snake like this before. But I think a small poisonous snake is more scary than a big one. At least you can see the anacondas clearly and know what they're doing.'

Say cheese! Banfi, 53, goes up close to take an underwater shot of one of the anacondas. He saw six huge female snakes during his time in Brazil

On the prowl: The bright sunlight suggests this anaconda is close to the surface and about the attack

Elegant: This smaller snake glides through the waters

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2230499/Diver-braves-waters-swim-deadly-26-foot-anaconda.html

 

The one hauled up on shore DOES look as if it matches the descriptions of "The Black Boa", and "The much smaller snake" IS a specimen of the recognised USUAL species of anaconda.

It will be interesting to see if anty experts think the larger Anacondas photographed here might represent a diffeent and larger specis.

Best Wishes, Dale D.

"Sea Monster" Photographed In Northern Argentina

The following photograph came from the area of Tafí in Tucumán province, NW Argentina. I would have assumed it was a writhing anaconda being swept along by the flood but the area is fairly high altitude and fairly cool, averaging about 70 degrees Farenheit year-round (summer average temperature about 25 degrees Centigrade, winter temperatures about 15 degrees). And so it is not really the kind of climate you'd expect anacondas in.

Sea Monster

I hiked along the river in Tafi and kept seeing this very strange current that looked like the humps of a serpentine sea monster!!! I don't know what it was...definitely something unnatural, maybe supernatural?

http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/8475850

http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/blog-120709.html

This was originally posted in "Siesta is Obligatory"

User's name is Natalie/Gordita: I have not been successful in contacting her yet. I contacted Blogger and I was told I needed to contact her directly to get permission to use the photo, but at that time TravelBlog did not seem to have any record of the photo or how to get in touch with her. I will of course always take the photo down if she denies me permission, but my impression is that it qualifies as "Fair Use"

--Anacondas are also usually marked with conspicuous black spots all over the sides and this object?/creature? does not show anything like that. It looks too flexible to be a branch or a tree trunk. And so until somebody comes foreward and says it actually is an unusual anaconda in unusual conditions, I'd be inclined to call it an unknown Giant eel, swimming on its side as Heuvelmans said that they do. Whatever it is, it is a highly valuable photo in that it shows ANYTHING swimming in traditional "Sea-serpent" up-and-down-serpentine-style. That is actually something very unusual to see and not known in anacondas otherwise, so far as the sources state.

Best Wishes, Dale D.

Sample Comparisons for Latin-American Cryptids

 This is my recent pasteup to indicate the size of the head in a Gigantic Boa (Sucuriju) Based on Titanoboa.
I had done this with the idea I was showing "The Black Boa" but I cannot be certain that the sightings I am using for scale did not belong to the more usual Sucuriju Gigante. In particular I wanted to illustrate how big and heavy the head is if it is as large as the reports say, and also the vey large size of the eye as reported ("The size of plates" or larger). If the snakes really are this big then about the only prey animals large enough to sustain them would have to be caimans

I also did a composite showing a basilisk lizard running in comparison to a repoted "Chupacabras" from a company that prints it as a logo onto t-shirts and such.This type of "Chupa" reports extend from Texas and the SW USA through Mexico and Central America, Colombia and Venezuela to Brazil, and to Northern Argentina and Chile. They not only correspond to descriptions given iin Conquistadore days and traditionally, they are similar to depictions made in Pre-Columbian Art where even some of the given names sound similar to "Chupacabras" : and Chupacabras (goat-sucker) is also the name given to certain large lizards (and snakes) in the belief that they drink the goat's milk. This legend is also verifiably traditional in Mexico and most of the rest of Latin America.


Just as a reminder, all of these points have been discussed on this blog before.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

History: "The first reported attacks occurred in March 1995 in Puerto Rico...In 1975, similar killings in the small town of Moca, were attributed to El Vampiro de Moca (The Vampire of Moca)..[At about that same time, mutilations of sheep and goats were being attributed to a creature described as a "Snake on its (hind) legs" with a sawtoothed ridge down its back, which was called by the Comanche name Timbo (Hairless) as well as other names of other traditional figures from Native Folklore according to region, the Navajo name Kleesto also being used, but probably improperly-DD] ...Puerto Rican comedian and entrepreneur Silverio Pérez is credited with coining the term chupacabras soon after the first incidents were reported in the press. Shortly after the first reported incidents in Puerto Rico, [similar reported creatures and] other animal deaths were reported in other countries, such as the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Brazil, United States, and Mexico.^[5]
5^ ^{a b c d} Stephen Wagner. "On the trail of the Chupacabras". http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa051898.htm. Retrieved October 5, 2007
[Silviero Perez at best only recycled the pre-existing name for the Folkloric "Milk Snake/Lizard" which otherwise has been the subject of legends running as far back as Roman times, at least-DD]

Appearance: The most common description of chupacabras is a reptile-like being, appearing to have leathery or scaly greenish-gray skin and sharp spines or quills running down its back.^[40] This form stands approximately 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 m) high, and stands and [runs on its hind legs or] hops in a similar fashion to a kangaroo.^[41] In at least one sighting, the creature was reported to hop[jump] 20 feet (6 m). This variety is said to have a dog or lizard-like nose and face, a forked tongue, and large fangs. It is said to hiss and screech when alarmed, as well as leave behind a sulfuric stench.^[41] ...Some reports assert that the chupacabras' eyes are coloured an unusual red [and the stench from the bowels] gives the witnesses nausea.
[This form is also said to climb rocks and trees well and to leap down out of trees when disturbed. it also dives into water where it can swim away rapidly and it is sometimes referred to under traditional names for water-monsters as well. Its total legth including the tail usually ranges from 6 to 10 or 12 feet long-DD]
41^ ^{a b c} Stephen Wagner. "The Top 10 Most Mysterious Creatures of Modern Times". http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa010101b.htm. Retrieved October 5, 2007.

....Another description of chupacabras, although not as common, describes a strange breed of wild dog.^[41] This form is mostly hairless and has a pronounced spinal ridge, unusually pronounced eye sockets, fangs, and claws. It is claimed that this breed might be an example of a dog-like reptile...
[This latter kind is most definitely based on feral dogs and sometimes foxes or coyotes, diseased with scabies and the mange, and generally in a bad way when they are found. several examples of the type have been killed or produced as corpses: they are invariably hairless canids or canids with the hair reduced to a ridge along the spine. Almost all of the supposed "Animal Mutilation" cases can also be attributed to them]
[The Wikipedia article also says the Chilean Peuchen are analogous to Chupacabras, but that creature is more definitely a giant vampire bat. There are several other creatures in Chilean lore that are better fits and much more like the modern Chupacabras reports: Currently the term Chupacabras is used anyway-DD]

Precolumbian statue showing giant iguanid lizard with characteristic boss at angle of jaw, dewlap under chin and spiny crest down back: similar to other such depictions from Mexico to Peru, all depictions varying a great deal in artistic quality of course. The scale represented in such depictions is consistent with the recent reports. From the Larousse Mythology  reference encyclopedia. [DD Personal Files]

Chart comparing the various known apes and man at the top, from appendix to Time-Life Nature Library book Evolution.
Bottom row shows reported size range for both Mono Grande and Mono Rey in different parts of South America. Males only shown. The Mono Rey comes in sizes from about the size of a standard siamang to the size of a small and slender chimpanzee: the Mono Rey comes from chimpanzee to gorilla sizes basically, although the larger sizes might be much exaggerated (perhaps doubled).

Both Mono Grande and Mono Rey appear to be variations on recognisable types of ASIATIC apes.Colours are very diverse but smaller ones tend to be dark or black and larger ones more reddish brown. I suspect that the standard "Yeti" sizes are much like the Mono Rey.

CFZ REPRINT:
http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2009/11/dale-drinnon-looking-at-chupacabra-part.html

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

DALE DRINNON: Looking at the Chupacabra (Part One)

Knowing of our involvement with things apertaining to the Puerto Rican goatsuckers, Dale sent us several of his musings on the nature of the chupacabra, which we read with great interest. We have condensed them into a two-part article.

Early on in the Frontiers of Zoology group I had posted a link to a site that said that chupacabras depradations were being caused by giant vampire bats. All well and good; Shuker had mentioned reports of these giant vampire bats, and the website specified that they ranged from a wingspan of a foot to a few feet, walked on all fours on the ground and the largest ones were the size of a small dog on the ground. This is generally comparable with reports and traditions elsewhere in Latin America.

But there is a complication; there are different types of giant bats in the New World being reported and their characteristics are quite different.

While I was working for the Anthropology department at IUPUI I came across some photographs of some stone statues from Colombia, illustrating something that reminded me strikingly of Ivan Sanderson's Ahool drawing from Investigating the Unexplained. These reference photos were on file at the department and the captions stated that such 'Bat-effigies' were found occasionally from the American southwest to northern Argentina. Later I realised that these same figures were well known in Mesoamerica and related to the Mayan Kamazotz (Camazotz): in some of the UFO books, Kamazotz stories are ascribed to the Ikhals. They were said to stand on their hind legs as tall as a small child (2-3 feet or so) but were still regular bats, and ordinarily fish-eaters. And they are still being reported as chupacabras in some regions (notable examples from the southwest and illustrated on Cryptomundo, but known in 'Big Bird' lore from Texas in the mid-1970s, as bat-winged and monkey-faced, differing from the usual 'Big Bird' reports)

Moreover, the typical vampires of South American lore are chonchons, said to be a human head flying on ears transformed into batwings a fathom wide. Eberhart's Mysterious Creatures has entries on all of these giant bats, and the usual explanation given is they are all giant vampre bats.



pajaro-batchupa-chile
est 1 meter tall, wingspan at least 3.5m


It is not that simple: you have a small, medium-sized and a very large giant bat species emerging from these reports, and the medium-sized one is on a scale comparable to an Old-World flying fox (fruit-eating mega-bat) The largest is pretty much exactly comparable to an Ahool. The smallest reported unknown bat would be the giant vampire bat, the medium-sized one would be a giant false vampire bat, the chonchon. It is the size of a flying fox and the body of a flying fox is about the apparant size of a human's head.
 

So the smallest one is the bat with a wingspan of a foot or two, but it is the blood-drinker. The others are innocent but get the blame; however, false vampire bats are still predatory and one that size might give a human a bad mauling if it was very frightened or rabid. And while the biggest one gets blamed for such things as haunting graveyards and kidnapping children, it would much rather keep to itself. The big one is at least comparable in size to a big owl or a big eagle, unless stories are very much exaggerated



Cryptid Bat Photo, 2003 in Brazil; estimated as Eagle-sized



Best Wishes, Dale D.

Another Sucuriju

Marcelo is a member of my Yahoo group Frontiers-of-Zoology and he is from Brazil with a keen interest in the Sucuriju Gigante. Today he posted several links pertaining to the subject, together with a copy of his letter to the Sao Paolo Aquarium asking for more pictures. One of the links he supplied led me to the site, which I translated with the Google engine and am posting here:

Blog of Lucas Cardozo Sunday, May 10, 2009

Anaconda 40 meters who was killed by the army. [Reconstruction of the scene]

FIRST AND FOREMOST THAT ALREADY SAY NO WAY OUT. JUST FOUND INTERESTING POST. REMEMBERING THAT THE PHOTO is merely illustrative. TÁ NA CARA WHAT IS A PAINTING. WHO KNOW OF SOMETHING PLEASE POST IN THE COMMENTS, EVEN U.S. (and most people) ARE NOT BELIEVING.

Anaconda 40 meters who was killed by the army. * Biologists say this story is real ... Because the fatode that anacondas grow until the day they die ... that snakes past came to live 50 to 80 years today with deforestation and poaching of these animals hardly an anaconda comes to live 15 years! * According to the army, one day in the afternoon, called on the army base in the region as "strong" on the banks of the Amazon River, watchman during a vigil on the movement of a sentry noticed a strange animal that left the water and approached increasingly it. When he could see that it was a huge snake, the alarm sounded, alerting all those soldiers who manned Fort. When the animal approached the sentry, he tried to catch him. Then order was given to shoot the anaconda. All soldiers fired gun shots against the snake, but even so, she advanced against the soldiers intent on devouring them. Then it was given new order for them to use heavy weapons such as rifle, shotgun, etc.. After several minutes of fighting and shooting a lot, managed to shoot down the huge beast that measured 40 meters, about 5 tons, 80 inches in diameter. She was baptized as "Ju Anaconda."[Sucuriju]

So, do you believe?

To which I added the Comment: Anacondas 40 feet long I can accept without a problem. 80 feet long I have a problem with although I allow the maximum might be just short of that at 60-75 feet long, very exceptionally and only on the basis of good witness' testamony. 40 meters or over 120 feet long are a definite problem. One of my standard explanations is that there was a mistake in the unit of measure, so that a "vara" close to 2 feet long might be understood by another person as a "vara" of 3 feet long, or something similar. In which case the highly controversial measure of over 120 feet long could actually have been meant originally as the less controversial 80 feet long, or hopefully somewhat less than that.

That is the way I answered the matter in the group. However, upon looking the painting over again, I think perhaps the great length is mistaken and actually this might not be the large and long Sucuriju Gigante that is being depicted, it might be the proportionately much stouter Black Boa, which is not said to grow nearly so long. The report of the body in the river might be unconnected to the animal killed by the soldiers and the measurement of the animal guessed at (but not measured) in the water could have been very much less- perhaps closer to 40 feet than 40 meters. It is still an enormously thick-bodied snake.

Looking at the scale of the canoe and the people in the canoe at that distance from the snake's body causes me to think that it must be closer to 40 or perhaps 45 feet than to the reported 40 meters. A 40 meter long snake would fill the whole picture area and continue off to the side by this scale. Actually the snake as it is depicted is not horribly outsized.

My opinion is also partially based on the fact that the "Snoring" or "Growling" anaconda is said to have a head which looks like a dog's head and the head of this one is similar to a dog's head. The way the body is positioned is however meant to look like the creature in the photograph which was supposedly the one killed by the soldiers. And it would not look that way floating down the river, its body would be riding lower in the river and more submerged. So that much of the depiction would be inaccurate. I am basically adding the photo here in case one or more of the contingencies I suggested here could be correct.

Best Wishes, Dale D.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

More on Giant Anacondas, Part 2

It seems rather peculiar to me that most cryptozoologists treat all reports of Sucuriju Gigantes as equivalent when in fact they are not. Percival Fawcett is the common source for much of what we know about giant anacondas and yet even he made distinctions between different types.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_anaconda

Giant anaconda
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia





The green anaconda, Eunectes murinus, is the largest anaconda species. Females are bigger than their male counterparts.

Reports of giant anacondas date back as far as the discovery of South America when sightings of anacondas upwards of 50 meters (150 feet) began to circulate amongst colonists and the topic has been a subject of debate ever since among cryptozoologists and zoologists.

Anacondas normally grow to sizes of 6 metres (20 ft),[1][2] and 250 kilograms (40 stone) in weight.[3] Although some python species can grow longer,[3] the anaconda, particularly the Green Anaconda, is the heaviest and largest in terms of diameter of all snakes, and is often considered the biggest extant snake in the world.[1][3] It is not uncommon for a fully grown anaconda to attack and kill a jaguar or caiman. The lengthiest reputably-measured and confirmed anacondas are about 7.5 meters (25 feet) long. Lengths of 50-60 feet have been reported for this species but such extremes lack verification and too add lack of large prey to support a super-large snake. The longest specimen measured by a scientist measured roughly 35 feet long but this claim remains unverified.[4]
[This is once again erring on the conservative side. Claims of up to 40 feet long as measured by a scientist have been made but remain unverified. That is a bit more than "Roughly 35 feet" which I imagine means to report the same specimens-DD]


The first recorded sightings of giant anacondas were from the time of the discovery of South America, when early European explorers entered the dense jungles there and claimed to have seen giant snakes measuring up to 18 metres (59 ft) long.[5] Natives also reported seeing anacondas upwards of 10.5 metres (34 ft)[5] to 18 metres (59 ft).[1] It is unquestionable that anacondas above 7 metres (23 ft) in length are rare; the Wildlife Conservation Society has, since the early 20th century, offered a large cash reward (currently worth US$50,000) for live delivery of any snake of 9 metres (30 ft) or more in length, but the prize has never been claimed despite the numerous sightings of giant anacondas. In a survey of 780 wild anacondas in Venezuela, the largest captured was 5 metres (16 ft) long, far short of the length required.[6]

A specimen measured in 1944 exceeded this size when a petroleum expedition in Colombia claimed to have measured an anaconda which was 11.4 metres (37 ft[actually, a bit over 38 feet-DD]) in length, but its claim has never been proven.[7] Scientist Vincent Roth also claimed to have shot and killed a 10.3 metres (34 ft [34 and 1/3feet long]) specimen, but like most other claims it lacks sound evidence. Another claim of an extraordinarily large anaconda was made by adventurer Percy Fawcett. During his 1906 expedition, Fawcett wrote that he had shot an anaconda that measured some 19 metres (62 ft [63 and 1/3 feet-DD]) from nose to tail.[8] Once published, Fawcett’s account was widely ridiculed. Decades later, Belgian cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans came to Fawcett's defence, arguing that Fawcett's writing was generally honest and reliable.[9]

Historian Mike Dash [Following Heuvelmans] writes of claims of still larger anacondas, alleged to be as long as 45 metres (148 ft)[OR MORE],[10] with some of the sightings supported with photos (although those photos lack scale). Dash notes that if reports of a 18 metres (59 ft) anaconda strains credulity, then a 120 feet long specimen is generally regarded as an outright impossibility.[10]



Sucuriju Gigante, Scale Mockup. Colour is stated to be a sort of chestnut brown.

-In an earlier blog we reviewed the photos and found them to be unreliable. Fawcett, however, is otherwise thought to be reliable. He also spoke of other reports from other areas and this part is often overlooked. After mentioning the measurements of the one his men had shot, he continues, “Such large specimens as this may not be common, but the trails in the swamps reach a width of six feet and support the statements of Indians and rubber pickers that the anaconda sometimes reaches an incredible size dwarfing that shot by me. The Brazilian Boundary Commission told me of one exceeding eighty feet in length!” In another place, he also told of another species of snake that could be found in Araguaya and Tocantins basins, known as the Dormidera (the sleeper or The Snorer) from the loud snoring noise it makes, which is said to be black in variety and much larger.

It seems to me that some sightings of what is called The Mysterious Beast in Paraguay, AKA the Barking Snake, are based on that same Black Boa, and possibly it is responsible for some of the trails and trenches ascribed to the Minhocao [For which see Tim Dinsdale in Monster Hunt]. It is a very thick snake according to all accounts, but surprisingly although estimates of its length run up to eighty feet long, it seems not much longer than an ordinary anaconda. It is supposed to be responsible for the six-foot-wide trails seen in the jungles and it has been witnessed through clear water to be about that thick when measured against a canoe. Even allowing for some exaggeration, it is at least twice as thick as the more common Anaconda.


The Black Boa.



From True Authority website, quoting earlier authors:
Snakes are some of the most feared creatures on earth. Long and legless, fast and flexible, they strike fear into the hearts of those unaccustomed to their presence. Like all reptiles, they are covered with scales, but unlike most lizards, snakes possess a thin, forked tongue, and along with having no true eyelids, they lack external ears. It doesn't come as a surprise, then, that most people are afraid of them, yet as a general rule, there is little to be afraid of. Not all snakes are venomous, and of the 3,000 species around the world that are, only about 15% are considered poisonous to humans.[1]

There is, however, something else to fear besides venom.

The largest snakes on earth are the reticulated python and the anaconda, both of which can grow to a length of 33 feet (10m) and weigh up to as much as 550 pounds (250kg). Case in point: they may not be poisonous to you, but they can easily kill you.[2]


The Anaconda

The focus of this article is, of course, the anaconda. In the boa family, the anaconda is a constrictor. That is, it kills its prey by squeezing. What is known as the common anaconda inhabits the rivers of northern and Amazonian South America, east of the Andes. There is also the yellow anaconda which lives in southern South America, but it is much smaller, reaching lengths of about only 10 to 13 feet (3 to 4m). Anacondas don't lay eggs as many others snakes do, instead giving birth to live young.[3]

While the anaconda is also known as the "water boa," it spends a great deal of its time basking in the sun. Here, outside of the water, it is considered less dangerous, with its weight not being as well supported (for larger specimens). Still, inside or outside of water, they will hunt, though not necessarily in the sense of pursuing their prey. Anacondas are opportunistic hunters, like the crocodile, and typically will wait for their prey to come to them. That's not to say one won't slowly advance towards you if interested, but they rather prefer the surprise attack, being content to wait patiently close by. Simply put, anacondas are ambush experts.[4]


The Giant Anaconda: Fact Or Fiction

We now come to the fundamental question. How big do anacondas get? Science as we know it answers this question ... around 30 feet (though some acknowledge 37 feet). Is this answer, however, in the final analysis, the answer? Could larger anacondas, or any type snake for that matter, still be alive and well deep in the heart of South America's rainforests? Is such a notion even possible?

Such a notion is quite possible, though to most experts, improbable. Regardless, some believe that anacondas surpassing 30 to 40 feet do exist out in the wild, and they first look to history for their evidence.


History Of Reports

Percy H. Fawcett (Sources 5 and 6)

For over a hundred years, explorers and local natives have reported various encounters with large serpents in the Amazon, the most notable of which comes from Percy H. Fawcett. An officer of the Royal Engineers, Fawcett was commissioned in 1906 to survey the Rio Abuna and Acre rivers by the Royal Geographic Society. During his explorations, he recorded the following incident:

"We were drifting easily along on the sluggish current not far below the confluence of tigor and the Rio Negro when almost under the bow there appeared a triangular head and several feet of undulating body. It was a giant anaconda. I sprang for my rifle as the creature began to make its way up the bank, and hardly waiting to aim, smashed a .44 soft-nosed bullet into its spine, ten feet below the wicked head. At once there was a flurry of foam, and several heavy thumps against the boat's keel, shaking us as though we had run on a snag.

"We stepped ashore and approached the creature with caution. As far as it was possible to measure, a length of 45 feet lay out of the water and 17 feet lay in the water, making it a total length of 62 feet. Its body was not thick, not more than 12 inches in diameter, but it had probably been long without food."

When evaluating the legitimacy of one's testimony, history, character and overall trustworthiness must obviously be carefully considered. Fawcett was somewhat of a paradox. He was known as a scrupulous, matter-of-fact military man who recorded events exactly as they occurred ... or, at least, as he saw them. Yet, he was also characterized as a dreamer, leading expeditions in search of lost jungle cities of wealth unimaginable.

If we think about it, however, these two descriptions don't necessarily contradict one another. Being a dreamer does not automatically make one any less down-to-earth or detailed in what actual events occur in their lives. In fact, Fawcett encountered and recorded other snakes of reasonable size during his explorations, including a 7-foot long poisonous "Bush Master" that nearly killed his companion.

In any case, though Fawcett's team did not have an actual measuring device with them, he estimated the snake to be roughly 62 feet in length and a foot in diameter. Giving him a healthy 10 foot margin for error, the snake would still have been far larger than any specimen measured today. Unfortunately, because the gigantic snake was too large and heavy for he and his men to carry out of the jungles, they were forced to leave it behind.

Of course, this story is the subject of ridicule to most zoologists, especially when considering the ratio of length to width. Surely such a long snake would have been thicker, even if it had been "long without food." In the end, Fawcett either blatantly lied or told the truth. [It is also possible that the snake was a foot thick up near the head and the largest part of the belly was not measured. Snakes are not the same thickness all the way through and its greatest thickness could well have been greater than a meter at normal girth-DD]

Bernard Heuvelmans

He's known as the "Father of Cryptozoology", whose research in the field of cryptozoology was described by one critic as "based on rigorous dedication to scientific method and scholarship" and whose findings were "respected throughout the scientific community." He is Bernard Heuvelmans (1916-2001), famous author of the book On The Track Of Unknown Animals, which has sold over a million copies in various translations and editions.[7]

Heuvelmans himself claimed to see the giant anaconda while with a group of Frenchmen and Brazilians, and recorded his encounter in the following:

"We saw the snake asleep in a large patch of grass. We immediately opened fire upon it. It tried to make off all in convulsions but we caught up with it and finished it off. Only then did we realize how enormous it was. When we walked around the whole length of its body it seemed like it would never end. What struck me was its enormous head, a triangle about 24 inches by 20. We had no instruments to measure the beast, but we took an arms length of string and measured it about one meter by placing it on a man's shoulder and extending it to his fingertips. We measured the snake several times and each time we got a length of 25 strings. The creature was well over 23 meters (75 feet) long." [5]



[This one might be less than 75 feet but is probably on a par with Fawcett's killed snake. There is probably no way you can consider a mismeasure that would make it come out less than 50 feet reasonably-DD]


Again, nothing more than hearsay to the scientific community, who are only interested in tangible evidence (understandably).

Victor Heinz

He claimed to have had two encounters with the beast, the first being on May 22, 1922 near the town of Obidos on the Rio Negro on the Amazon River. Father Victor Heinz saw what appeared to be an enormous snake in the water, likely the anaconda, whose visible portion was at least 80 feet long and as thick as an oil drum. His second encountered occurred in 1929 at the mouth of the Rio Piaba, near Alemquer. Below the surface of the water, two bluish lights appeared, which he at first mistook for the lights of a steamer. Later he was told that the sucuriju (giant anaconda) lived their, and that he had seen the snake's eyes. It's interesting to note that other reports mention blue, glowing eyes as well.[8]


Final Thoughts

There are a number of other encounters that could be touched upon, but most are far too general and lack acceptable documentation. Some, in fact, even give claim to specimens of up to 120 feet in length. Photos also exist, but none reveal anything conclusive (see Futility Of Photographs). The giant anaconda, therefore, still remains a hidden animal, best known as a cryptid.

Of all cryptids, however, the giant anaconda is arguably the most likely to be a reality. When speaking of the largest possible size of the anaconda, one passage in Heuvelmans book, On The Track Of Unknown Animals, is of particular interest:

"American herpetologist Thomas Barbour, the great Brazilian expert Dr. Afranio do Amaral of the Institute at Butantan, and Dr. Jose Candido de Melo of the Rio de Janeiro Zoo all agree on forty-five feet." [7]

Such reveals that not all experts believe the anaconda's maximum size to be 30-37 feet. A 45-foot snake would indeed be a large snake, and would certainly qualify one for the label giant anaconda. So, in a real sense, the giant anaconda does exist; we seemingly just have to find it. But until we do, whether she be 80 feet, 60 feet, or 40 feet, we'll still always be left to wonder whether or not she's really, really out there.

References:

1. The Merck Manual, Sec. 23, Ch. 308, Bites and Stings, .
2. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2005 Reference Library Premium (DVD), article: ‘Snake’.
3. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2005 Reference Library Premium (DVD), article: ‘Anaconda’.
4. Unexplained Mysteries, Seeking The Giant Anaconda,
.
5. Cryptozoology.com, Aaron Justice, Sucuriju Gigante, http://www.cryptozoology.com/cryptids/anaconda.php>.
6. The UnMuseum, Big Snakes, .
7. Loren Coleman & Jerome Clark , Cryptozoology A-Z, Fireside Books , 1999.
8. Giant Anacondas, .