New York Zoological Society. 
SOUTH AMERICAN BOA OR BOA CONSTRICTOR (Constrictor constrictor). 
Length: 10 feet. Range: Tropical Central and South America. 
Australia, which attain respective lengths of eleven and nine feet and are 
known to swallow the kangaroo-like wallabies of the region. Another con¬ 
strictor is the beautifully colored green python of New Guinea. 
COMMON BOA 
Not the least of the virtues of the common boa of South America is the 
fact that it preys upon the mongoose. The mongoose was brought to South 
America to prey upon poisonous snakes but tricked its sponsors by also 
developing an appetite for chicken. 
When the boa stretches its body to cross from tree to tree there may 
be all of ten feet of snake suspended between the boughs. The related 
water boa, or anaconda, sometimes attains the length of twenty-five feet. 
These snakes are remarkably prolific, a captive specimen having 
111 
