Never-before-seen footage captures moment scientists find new, giant anaconda species in Amazon

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In 2024, scientists announced the discovery of a newfound anaconda species in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Now, in a new nature series, filmmakers have released nail-biting, never-before-seen footage of the moment they encountered the snake in the wild.

The footage transports viewers to the Baihuaeri Waorani Territory in the Amazon rainforest, where researchers were sampling anacondas in 2022 for a snake genetics study. In the video, venom expert Bryan Fry and actor Will Smith travel by boat with Indigenous Waorani guides along the banks of a murky river. In a small clearing, the group spots a gigantic anaconda, which the guides manage to immobilize so that Fry and Smith can take a piece of its scales.

The anaconda in the footage — which features in an episode of National Geographic's upcoming "Pole to Pole with Will Smith" docuseries — is a female measuring 16 to 17 feet (4.9 to 5.2 meters) long, Fry estimates in the show. There is a danger she might bite, says one of the Waorani guides who helps pin down the snake, even if green anacondas aren't venomous. Anacondas are constrictors, meaning they kill prey by wrapping their bodies tightly around it, suffocating the animal before swallowing it whole.

https://www.livescience.com/animals/snakes/never-before-seen-footage-captures-moment-scientists-find-new-giant-anaconda-species-in-amazon

AMAZING VIDEO: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/AOK3dSWx

[hlthe2b]

1. Well, I didn't expect Will Smith to be a "Steve Irwin" about this...

but, I'm guessing he has really not been around a lot of large animals before--yes, I agree this is a special case, but still. I have to think he would be only marginally less freaked out around a large domestic species (large bull), semi-wild zoo species, or even a great primate.

But, good on him for going along on this series.

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2. I've been to the Amazon rainforest in Brazil

and never saw an anaconda, thank god. I can't believe the kids we're handling it in this video, but I guess its their backyard.

[hlthe2b]

3. You should see our own Miccosukee Indian young children handling alligators in the Everglades...

That said, they don't like snakes...LOL

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4. I could not live in Alligator Alley.

Those things are terrifying.