Scientists are mourning the loss of the world’s largest snake, named “Ana Julia”, after learning it was “shot dead by hunters” in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest.
A team of 15 international biologists discovered the northern green anaconda in February and determined it to be a new species, based on a 5.5% difference in its DNA compared to other anacondas, reports Stiri.md with reference to stirileprotv.ro
Ana Julie’s lifeless body, 6 meters long, was found in the Formoso River in rural Bonito, in the southern Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
A Dutch researcher who helped discover the snake said he was “sad and angry” after hearing the news and called the anaconda killers “sick people”.
It is about the biologist professor Freek Vonk, who wrote on Instagram:
“It is with great pain in my heart that I would like to inform you that the strong and large anaconda I swam with has been found dead in the river. I have heard from various sources that she was fatally shot, although there is still no official confirmation of the cause of death. I am so sad and angry at the same time.How sick do you have to be to do this to such a beautiful and unique animal?
For all we know, she was super healthy and still in her prime, so she could have produced many pups in the years to come. Since there aren’t many of these giant colossal snakes swimming around, the blow to biodiversity is enormous. It was the biggest snake I had ever seen with my own eyes
Vonk also called the discovery of the northern green anaconda a ‘highlight’ of his scientific career.
The biologist filmed incredible footage of himself swimming with Ana Julia last month, showing the snake was as thick as a car tire – weighing 440kg.
According to wildlife filmmaker Cristian Dimitris, the dead snake is the same as the one filmed swimming with Vonk. He stated: “I compared the marks on its face, which are like fingerprints. It must be the most famous anaconda in the world, totally emblematic of the region. Images of the snake have already gone around the world.”
This was also confirmed by anaconda specialist and researcher at the University of São Paulo, Juliana Terra, who called Ana Julia a ‘symbol for the Bonito region’.
Before this discovery, only one species of green anaconda – also called giant anaconda – had been recognized in the Amazon.
“Together with 14 other scientists from nine countries, we discovered the world’s largest snake species, the green anaconda,” Professor Vonk said in February.
“As we all know from movies and stories about giant snakes – they are actually two different species. The green anacondas found in their northern South American range – including Venezuela, Suriname and French Guiana – appear to belong to an entirely different species. Although at first glance they look almost identical, the genetic difference between the two is 5.5%, which is enormous. To put this into perspective, humans and chimpanzees are only about two percent genetically different from each other.”
The researchers gave the new species the Latin name Eunectes akaima, which means northern green anaconda.
At the time, the team also expressed concern about the risks the snake faces amid climate change and ongoing deforestation in the Amazon.
“More than a fifth of the Amazon has already disappeared, which is more than 30 times the area of the Netherlands. The survival of these iconic giant snakes is inextricably linked to the protection of their natural habitat.”
