Anaconda

     The name anaconda is enough to strike fear into the hearts of people who live around the jungles of South America.  The anaconda is the longest and heaviest snake in the world and will attack a victim of any size when it's hungry.

     The largest anaconda ever measured was 37 1/2 feet long.  It would easily stretch the length of most school classrooms.  With its large, loose jaws, it can open its mouth wide enough to swallow a victim wider than itself, even a person!  Lurking by the water, the snake coils its body around the victim.  IT then drags its prey into the water.  Each time the victim breathes out, the anaconda tightens its hold.  The prey soon dies by drowning or suffocation.

       Many frightening stories are told about anacondas eating people, but very few have proven true.  Many South American people believe that anyone disappearing by jungle waters has become a victim.  Stories also tell of the snakes reaching a length of 120 feet.  If you are looking for danger and adventure, the New York Zoological Society has offered a 5,000 dollar reward for a 30-foot anaconda.  So far, no one has claimed the reward