National Geographic: Land of the Anaconda Page #3

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What number is this?

Eight hundred and what?

Jesus marks each snake with a number.

Renee sketches their tail markings

the anaconda version of a fingerprint.

It's easier than wrestling

snakes in the wild,

but it has its drawbacks too.

Living with snakes basically

is that it stinks.

Literally, it just smells really bad.

They have this musk that smells

if you're not really an expert

it smells just like an animal that's

been rotting for about five days.

And there are times

when we have in the house anywhere

from three to 20 to 25 bags of

snakes sitting around the house

with four drums full of big snakes,

so basically, yeah, it stinks.

Diega measures about 13 feet long

a giant snake,

but by no means the largest.

No one knows how long

an anaconda can get.

The 150-foot monsters described in

Brazilian news accounts

are biologically impossible.

Even the largest trophy skins

don't approach that.

But Jesus's most conservative

estimate still boggles the mind.

This is an animal that can grow

real close to 30 feet.

The weight of an animal of that kind

is something like 1,200 pounds.

We're talking about more than a boar

more than a normal cow.

Now cataloged and fitted

with a transmitter,

Diega is returned to the Ilanos.

Guess about here.

Alright.

Renee and Jesus bid her a

temporary farewell,

hoping that she will successfully mate.

We'll keep in touch.

Yup, we'll be back.

You bet we'll keep in touch.

As the dry season progresses

the heat intensifies

and wildlife traffic jams worsen

in the remaining waterways.

Capybara herds are forced to

congregate in shrinking pools.

And tempers run short among

dominant males with harems to guard.

At the water's edge

a newborn gets a maternal once-over.

But the mother is still in labor

there are more on the way.

The impending birth

has attracted vultures.

But they'll play

an unexpected role here.

Unlikely midwives, they strip the

newborn of its protein-rich placenta,

and squabble over it

leaving the baby free

to take its first labored breaths.

The newborns could use a few minutes

to get their bearings,

but the Ilanos offers no grace periods.

They've been noticed by

a dominant male nearby.

And his interest may not be benign.

This newborn may be the offspring

of the dominant male

or that of an upstart rival.

Scientists have yet to determine

what force now drives him to act.

In a rarely seen display of violence

he passes sentence on the newborns

and appoints himself executioner.

No death goes unnoticed on the Ilanos.

Spectacled caiman bide their time.

Instantly, the vultures shed their

midwife ways for a more familiar role.

Then the caimans lurch ashore

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