Shawn Heflick’s favorite snakes

In this video, biologist Shawn Heflick tells us about the anaconda, one of his favorite snakes. This green snake with dark markings grows to more than 25 feet and is right at home in the water. A native the Amazon River Basin, it feeds on caimans, small tapirs and capybaras, large water rodents. Like all constrictors, the anaconda bites its prey and coils around it, tightening the grip each the animal exhales, suffocating it. The snake extends its flexible jaw and swallows its victim whole, head first.

To find out about some of Shawn’s other favorite snakes, check out his article in the August 2011 issue of Boys’ Life magazine.