RAUK - Archived Forum - Posts by Jimpklop:

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A 66-year-old Brazilian man wrestled with a 15-foot (5-metre) anaconda for nearly half an hour to free his grandson from the snake's crushing death grip, local media reported on Friday.

Matheus Pereira de Araujo, 8, would likely be dead inside the belly of the 80 pound (35 kg) anaconda if his grandfather had not heard his screams for help, zoologists said.

Anacondas, the biggest snakes in the world, live in swamps and rivers. They kill prey by asphyxiation or drowning.

When the snake struck Araujo, who lives in the world's third largest metropolis of Sao Paulo, he was playing with a cousin on Wednesday in a creek bed on his grandfather's farm 310 miles (500 km) from the city in a town called Cosmorama.

"It was very fast. I didn't have time to do anything," the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper quoted Araujo as saying. "My grandfather is a hero -- I was so afraid of dying."

Joaquim Pereira was driving home when he heard the screams of Matheus and his cousin Flavio, 8, who ran to get help.

Pereira jumped into the ravine and grappled with the snake, which started coiling around him as well.

"I started fighting the animal and tried to loosen its grip on the boy's neck but the snake was too strong," Pereira told the Bom Dia newspaper of Sao Jose do Rio Preto.

Pereira then attacked it with stones and a machete.

"I kept hitting it with the machete but it felt like a rubber tyre, it wouldn't tear," he said.

He killed it after a long struggle to free the boy, who needed 21 stitches on his chest where the snake bit him.

"It was the most terrible scene that I've seen in my life," Pereira said. "It was totally coiled around him while he was screaming that he was dying."

Senator Eduardo Suplicy said Pereira should be honoured by the Brazilian government for heroism.

* He battled with it for 30mins I DON'T THINK SO SOME HOW!*

Would an anaconda be able to fight for this length of time, i thought stamina was a big downfall of all snakes as they only have one lung?

Hello Im James

Im a new member to this forum, i signed up cos i was amazed at some of the photo's u have in this section, Basically i have been interested in snakes for over ten years but i have never seen a wild one,i just wondered if any of you would know where i can get some pictures In or around Farnham Surrey.Or even better if some one goes looking for snakes around farnham could i tag along.

thanks

nice photo's paul

where did you take these?

and with what camera?

did any one see austin stevens tv programs called search for the king cobra and giant anaconda? if so did you think he is good with snakes or is he just the same as a lot of the people on this forum. thanks.

hello everyone

went out with VICAR today we saw five species out of the six.got some pictures none stunning but it was my first time will post them when i get back from longleat.

did any one else go out in surrey today ?if so how did you get on?

while im here : i hear there are snakes at longleat but from what i hear so far they are pretty sparse if you seen any there or know of any one that has i would be grateful if you could drop me a line?

thanks james

hello again

here's a couple i got today 28th may 2006 please tell me what you think and how i can improve.thanks

here's my first adder a lovely formed male

next up an un sexed Smooth snake posing quite nicely for a begginer

hi all

great pics there!Keep them coming.

hello paul

was that juvenile adder sitting on that tin when you found him, on did you put him on there.

its a lovely picture by the way.

James

hi again

i went to my local today didnt see any thing it was about 25 -28 degrees C is that to hot for them? it sure feelt like it was today. did any one see anything any where today(friday 9th)?

does any one have any picture of melanistic or unusal behaviour? would love it if you could post them!

James

Hi Wolfgang+Danial.

Thanks to both of you for the advice,I was told about the comfortable for a T-Shirt thing but i don't feel the heat i guess, because i was comfortable.

Bit of off topic question if anyone can answer: Do SOUTHERN smooth snakes are back fanged snakes , i was scanning through a piece of literature and im sure it said it was! Could any one verify this?

Thanks

Hello

A question for any one that is able to answer: Are southern smooth snakes back fanged?

Thanks

Hi Steve

Its been a while since you posted this and no one replied so i gave it some thought, bearing in mind I'm not a scientist  so I'm not very good at making connections like this and i have no idea how you would find out if the correlation is correct but here's my idea:I see Slow Worms out way past 20 degrees and you said Adders i quite tolerant to hot temperatures (or more so than other native reptilian species)

Its not really the evolutionary reason you were looking for but it my spark of some more idea's

Thanks 

James

Beautiful animal.

enough said.

hi thanks for that. that has cleared that up.

this may seem really stupid and i could have miss understood in two places: you said ,"They almost certainly have venom glands, like the vast majority of colubrids (including C. austriaca and grass snakes), but no specialised teeth for venom injection."this means to me that natrix a coronella both have venom glands but no way of injecting.which i never knew before. Or i miss-understood your quote.

Please confirm as i am now confused.

thanks

sorry for messing you about as this is a stupid question.

Poor snake

Any Idea's how he lost it .It looks to clean to be a bird or something.

Well done paul Nice photo's

Hi There

Thanks for all that you wouldn't believe how much I thought I knew and how much I was wrong about a few things and how much I learnt from your publications. Very helpful. I feel so stupid now.

Would I be able to put a link of your site on mine.(non profit of course)

Thanks again

Hi there Ellie

Nice pictures for a start.

This is 100% a Smooth Snake (Coronella Austriaca).

Taking a bit of a guess now but to me it looks like a male.

Thanks