Anacondas are some of the biggest and strongest snakes in the world. If you are researching anacondas, you may be wondering if they are big and strong enough to eat humans? So can anacondas eat humans and how likely is it to happen?
Large adult anacondas are capable of eating humans. They typically eat animals like deer and capybara, but it is technically possible for them to eat humans. They typically don’t eat humans because they are not part of their diet. So the likely hood of getting eaten by an anaconda is slim but very possible.
Now, you are probably wondering how this would happen and how likely it is to happen. Keep reading to know exactly how possible it is that a human would get eaten by an anaconda.
The Likelihood an Anaconda will Eat a Human
The green anaconda is one of the biggest snakes in the world. Because of this, they eat animals like pigs, deer, and capybara. Technically they can eat humans. Anacondas will sometimes eat male anacondas after mating season in order to stay alive because they cannot move much while pregnant as it poses a risk to the eggs that are growing inside of the anaconda.
This shows just how big anacondas are and what they are capable of. They don’t typically eat humans but anacondas are still a dangerous threat to people if they should decide to attack.
Although anacondas are big and strong enough to eat humans, they do not typically do this. This is because humans are typically not in the environment of anacondas. We are also not the common prey that they are used to.
What Would Happen If A Human Was Eaten By An Anaconda
Now, even though it is technically unlikely for an anaconda to actually eat a human being, it is still possible. You may be curious as to what exactly would happen if an anaconda ate a human.
Well, first the snake would kill you before swallowing you whole. Anacondas kill by wrapping themselves around their prey, slowly suffocating and crushing it with their body. The anaconda might also drag you under the water to drown you as well. After all, anacondas can hold their breath underwater for up to 10 minutes.
After the anaconda killed you, they would swallow you whole. As you slide down the anaconda’s body, the anaconda will crush you further. Inside the anaconda, there are acids that will slowly disintegrate your entire body. Gross, right!
Luckily, the anaconda does not have venom, but due to its size, it can still easily squeeze a human to death. Eventually, after the acids destroyed your bones, skin, hair, and entire body, the snake would defecate you. Sorry if that was a little too detailed!
Has An Anaconda Ever Eaten Someone?
Are you curious if there have ever been instances where someone was eaten alive by an anaconda or almost eaten alive? Documented reports do not indicate that people have been eaten by an Anaconda. However, you might get a different report from some of the locals where anacondas are common. Either way, it is still very rare and unlikely for a person to be eaten by an anaconda.
That said, a guy named Paul Rosolie purposefully tried to feed himself to an anaconda. What happened you’re wondering? He put a suit on that was supposed to protect him from the snake. Then he covered the suit in pig’s blood to lure the anaconda to him, and it attempted to eat him.
Sounds stupid right? Well, he had cameras on him at all times, a microphone where he could speak to his crew, people there watching his heart rate and blood pressure, and people ready to pull him out the second he began to feel unsafe.
When Rosolie approached the anaconda, it attacked him. He began getting squeezed to death by the anaconda. After maybe ten or so minutes of the anaconda squeezing him, the snake began to bite him because Paul was no longer strong enough to fight back.
This was when Rosolie called it off and told the guys to come and get him out of the anaconda’s grip and to safety. Paul Rosolie is still facing the consequences related to his injuries from the anaconda today. Luckily, he did not get eaten by the snake, and there are no other instances that we know of that are similar to this one. This just shows how possible it really is. (Source)
What Paul Rosolie Said
Paul Rosolie is the one man on the planet that we know for sure has gotten close to being eaten by an anaconda. He was extremely close to being devoured by the enormous creature. If you are curious to see what he said after doing this, then keep reading!
Paul said that the squeeze of the anaconda was like an elephant sitting on your chest. He said it was “exhilarating” and he sounded like he was happy he did the experiment throughout the interview. (Source)
He told his complete story in detail and explained what he did before and during the experience which helped him know what to do. He researched thoroughly and was smart (or as smart as he could be) about it all. So I guess let’s be honest it probably was not very smart at all.
Something you can take from this man’s experience is that he studied snakes for a living, was insanely strong, decided to do this experiment, and still decided to call it off. The anaconda’s squeeze was simply too much for him.
That tells you right there that even if you know snakes, know what you are doing, and are incredibly strong, you will not be able to be a match for an anaconda. They are just too strong.
So, whatever you do, don’t purposely become an anaconda’s prey. If you see one, leave it alone. You don’t want to get on an anaconda’s bad side!
Anacondas Can Get Big Enough To Eat People
Did you know that anacondas can get as big as 30 feet in length and weigh up to 550 pounds! Talk about big! That’s as heavy as a large female polar bear. Anacondas are the biggest and heaviest snakes in the world! Their size is massive, which explains how they could eat you if they wanted to.
How Hard Do Anacondas Squeeze?
You may be wondering how tight the squeeze of an anaconda is. Well, I can tell you! The squeeze of an anaconda is found to be a force of 90 pounds per square inch, which makes their squeeze pretty darn tight.
You would NOT want to be caught in the grasp of an anaconda. This shows just how horribly suffocating it would be to be in the tight squeeze of a green anaconda. Just like Rosolie said, it feels like an elephant on your chest! So an anaconda is powerful enough to squeeze a human to death.
Do Anacondas Have Venom or Teeth?
As mentioned above, anacondas don’t have venom and but they do have some nasty teeth. Because of this, anacondas are more likely to pounce on you and kill you by slowly suffocating and crushing you. They have teeth that they use to help grab their prey, but their teeth are mostly there to hold their prey in place.
What Do Anacondas Typically Eat?
Anacondas will normally eat animals like capybara, deer, and pigs. When in captivity, they eat rabbits and rats. This is why they typically don’t feed off of humans. We are simply way bigger than most animals they prey on, and it would take them weeks or possibly months to digest our long bodies. Of course, a very large anaconda is big enough to eat a human but we are not their first choice.
It is known that anacondas are not picky when it comes to the food they eat. They will eat pretty much anything and everything as long as they can fit it in their mouths. The only things they won’t usually eat are things that may take longer to eat and digest (like humans). This is because the longer it takes them to eat and digest their prey, the longer they sit there being susceptible to predators.
Can Only Green Anacondas Eat People
There are a couple of different kinds of anacondas. This influences the likelihood they will eat humans or not. Green anacondas are the most likely to eat humans because of their size and habits when eating prey. Yellow anacondas eat prey that is smaller, like birds, lizards, and smaller snakes.
Dark-spotted anacondas are a lot smaller than green anacondas, which makes their prey smaller. They eat things like lizards, fish, and rodents. Bolivian anacondas also eat smaller prey like small snakes and lizards. This makes green anacondas the biggest, and most dangerous of the anaconda family.
Though green anacondas are the largest, all anacondas are large snakes. That said, most of the other types of anaconda would likely only be capable of eating a smaller person. That is unless is was one of the largest of that species.
What Does This Mean For You?
Luckily, there are not likely any anacondas where you live, at least in the U.S. Most are in tropical locations like the Amazon. However, this means you probably don’t want an anaconda as a pet. Some people have snakes as pets, but it is very dangerous to have anacondas as pets, especially if you are under 18. We do not suggest getting a pet anaconda.
Sure some people are capable of handling captive anacondas but they are very few and far between. I feel confident that you are not one of them because if you were then you probably would not be reading this article. You would already know all the information in this article.
The only way you might be able to have an anaconda as a pet would be if you were trained and skilled in taking care of anacondas. I would not suggest it either way though.
Instead, see if your local zoo has an anaconda you can see. You won’t have to take care of it and it will be behind extremely durable glass, keeping you safe.
Now, you may be wondering what you should take away from all this. The only time you should ever really need to be watchful and careful of anacondas is if you are in an area where anacondas are present. If you plan on visiting a country that anacondas are native to, here is what you should do.
You should do your research in order to be completely prepared. You should avoid Anaconda’s natural habitat or at least go with a guide and a large group.
So can anacondas eat humans and is this likely to happen? Simply put, a large anaconda is capable of eating a person but it is very unlikely.