Have you ever seen an Anaconda eating a huge rodent?
The Capybara is definitely one of a kind, believed to be the World’s largest Rodent. However, when faced in the ring—with the hair-raising Anaconda, the World’s largest and heaviest snake, the winning chances of the Capybara are quite slim. Don’t you think?
Well, let’s start with a little background information on each of our contestants. The Capybara, who has some family ties to Guinea Pigs and Rock Cavies, lives throughout South America, mainly in dense tropical rainforests and near swamps. The enormous Capybara can grow to lengths of up to 140 cm (4.60 feet), heights of 65 cm (25 in) and may weigh over 65 kg. Quite impressive for a rodent. However, despite its scary dimensions among its rodent friends, the Capybara is simply a grass and fruit eater.
On the other side of the ring, the giant Anaconda is a brutal meat-eater, and a natural predator. This mythical snake of gigantic proportions is also found mainly in South America. Regarded as the largest and heaviest snake in the World, the Anaconda can reach lengths of more than 6.6m, (22 ft) and may weigh up to 70 kg (154 lb). Similarly to the Capybara, the Anaconda lives mainly in tropical rainforests, in marshes and swamps. However, contrary to the huge rodent, the Anaconda floats underneath the surface of the water, searching for prey. You can find the mythical Anaconda eating almost anything it can overpower, starting with fish, birds, reptiles and even large animals like deer, caimans and the largest rodent alive.
Watch this heart-stopping video clip, and see how the Anaconda strikes the poor Capybara, coils around it with its body, suffocates it to death, swallowing and eating it whole.
Want to be active in the conservation of Anacondas? Collective ConSERVation is a great organization taht is working with biologists all over the world to learn about the biology and behavior of the Green Anaconda, so that programs for protecting and managing the species can be achieved. Visit their website and take a look!
