74 SERPENTS 



THE LARGEST SPECIES OF SERPENTS 



Family Boidae 



The Family Bo'i-dae, containing the boas, anacondas and 

 pythons, embraces between sixty and seventy species. 



It is as natural for human interest in animals to be great- 

 est toward those that are the largest of their kind, as it is 

 for sparks to fly upward. It is well to see what Nature can 

 do when she puts forth her best efforts. No one need apolo- 

 gize for a keen interest in pythons, boas and anacondas, pro- 

 vided that interest is kept down to bed-rock truth, and all 

 exaggerations and overestimates are rigidly eliminated. Un- 

 fortunately, however, the makers of sensations about wild 

 animals regard all large serpents as their lawful prey, and 

 often stretch them unmercifully. 



THE BOA CONSTRICTOR. The serpents which seize their 

 prey, and crush it into compact shape before swallowing it, 

 are constrictors, because of their method ; but all big serpents 

 are not necessarily Boa constrictors. That title applies to 

 but a single species, found in South America; and, curiously 

 enough, its Latin name is also its popular name. 



In seizing its prey, this serpent instantly reveals its name 

 by its method. The jaws open widely, fly forward with elec- 

 tric quickness, close on the animal, and hold fast. Instantly 

 thereafter, a coil of the body near the head is flung com- 

 pletely around the victim and drawn tight, to suppress strug- 

 gling, and prevent possible escape from the jaws. From the 

 oldest and largest to the youngest and smallest Boa Con- 

 strictors, all seize their prey with precisely the same action, 



