THE LARGEST SERPENTS 
341 
scheme, and the very large oval patches of light 
color, divided by black bands, that are laid along 
its back with regularity and precision. The 
sides are beautifully marked by light-colored 
diamonds and bars. 
When at home, this serpent feeds upon pacas, 
agoutis, capybaras, tamancluas, young peccaries 
and tapirs, and any bird that is large enough to 
justify attention. Considering the excellent 
climbing powers of the Boa Constrictor, and the 
dulness of certain South American monkeys, it 
is highly probable that monkeys furnish many 
a meal for this serpent. The sloth is protected 
in two ways. It prefers the small and weak outer 
branches of a tree, and it moves so slowly and un- 
ostentatiously a Boa would be long in finding one. 
If a twelve-foot Boa once wrapped itself 
around an unarmed man, it undoubtedly could 
suffocate him, or crush him to death, but it would 
be impossible for it to swallow him. There is 
at hand no authentic record of a Boa Con- 
strictor ever having killed a man or a horse. In 
South America I was assured by native hunters 
that Boas and anacondas swallow antlered deer, 
but when direct proof of this was called for, it 
never came. 
The Anaconda 1 is the great water-constrictor 
of South America, and it so loves the aqueous 
element that some captive specimens never leave 
their bathing-tanks unless forced to do so. This 
serpent is strongly marked for identification by 
the very large black spots, round or nearly so, 
which cover its back from head to tail, laid on a 
dark olive ground. Sometimes these are ar- 
ranged in pairs, and suggest dumb-bells. 
This species attains very great size, and being 
fully equal to the reticulated python of the East 
Indies, it is one of the largest of living serpents. 
Of course it can hardly happen that specimens 
of the largest size would find their way into zoo- 
logical gardens. The largest thus far exhibited 
in the Zoological Park measured 18 feet 6 inches, 
and came from the Berbice River, British Guiana. 
In the British Museum there is a stuffed specimen 
which is 29 feet long. 
In British Guiana I was assured by local hunters 
that the “Camudie,” as this serpent is commonly 
called, often attains a length of 35 feet. There 
is, however, no proof that it exceeds 30 feet; 
and any traveller or observer who has the good 
' Eu-nec'tes mu-ri'nus. 
fortune to meet with a specimen exceeding that 
length will do well to back up his tape measure 
with either the preserved skin or skeleton. One 
snake-skin is more convincing than a hundred 
snake-stories. 
I believe the delta of the Orinoco is the north- 
ern limit of the Anaconda, where it is called the 
“Culebra de Agua,” and regarded with pro- 
found respect. It inhabits the Guianas and Bra- 
zil, and probably extends to the head-waters of 
the Amazon, in eastern Peru. Of its regular 
food, the capybara (a water-loving rodent, as 
large as a good-sized hog) undoubtedly stands 
first, followed by the tapir, otter, deer and large 
water-birds generally. 
The Reticulated Python , 2 of the Malay 
Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo, is the largest 
YELLOW ANACONDA. 
Eunectes notaeus. 
serpent of the Old World, and the only rival of 
the anaconda for first place. A surprisingly 
large number of specimens of this species are 
captured alive each year, and sold to dealers in 
wild animals. As a result, the largest serpent 
with which the animal-loving public becomes 
familiar in the zoological gardens and parks is 
this handsome Python. Specimens exceeding 
20 feet in length, and running up to 25 feet, are 
really common in the possession of the animal 
dealers of Singapore, but about three-fourths of 
them die from lack of proper care before they are 
finally disposed of in Europe or America, and 
placed on exhibition. 
The largest specimen which thus far has died 
in the Zoological Park measured 22 feet 10 inches, 
and weighed 170 pounds; but a larger unmeas- 
ured specimen is now living there. 
2 Py'thon re-tic-u-la'tus. 
