Few creatures in the natural world inspire more fear and awe than giant constrictor snakes. These enormous, nonvenomous snakes, including the python and the legendary boa constrictor, are renowned for their ability to kill their prey by constriction –literally squeezing the life out of their helpless victims. When giant constrictor snakes hit the headlines it is usually for one reason only: for having swallowed something enormous.
However, whilst these snakes’ remarkable means of digestion is well known, little is known about how they do it. This film follows a groundbreaking study by scientists to discover more about constrictors. How long can they really grow, just how powerful are they, and do they really prey on human beings?
The first subject of the programme is the anaconda. These monster snakes seize their prey with hundreds of teeth, then coil their long bodies around the victim, immobilizing it. The reptiles then swallow their prey inch by inch –a slow and painful way to go.
Maria Manoz and Dr Brad Moon head into the swamps of Venezuela on a highly dangerous hunt for a green anaconda –the world’s heaviest snake. The scientists are hoping to be the first to measure the crushing strength of the coils of a 20-foot long specimen. Unsurprisingly, this sort of job comes with serious health risks: Maria Manoz narrowly escaped an anaconda attack on a previous occasion. Will she get away with it this time?
Half a world away, a Malaysian policeman tells a remarkable story involving a local farmer and a reticulated python –the world’s longest snake. These killers have jaws that allow them to swallow deer, alligators and big cats whole –by opening to an amazing 180 degrees. Did the farmer stand any chance of survival? To find the answers, this documentary gets up close and personal with the largest and most terrifying snakes on earth.