Green Anaconda predation

[HyperNova]

Here is a wonderful account of a green anaconda predation on a adult cougar. Originally posted on carnivora by gsm1234 (the credit goes to him).

Predation of an adult puma by an anaconda in south- eastern Brazil

We report the predation of a puma Puma concolor by an adult anaconda Eunectes murinus that occurred in south-eastern Brazil. Despite the death of both animals, the incident raises important questions regarding the role they play in their respec- tive niches in the wild.

We report here a natural predation event of an adult female puma by an adult anacon- da that occurred in the municipality of Pro- missão, on the north-western border of São Paulo state, Brazil. The incident was disco- vered when monitoring an adult female puma through radiotelemetry, as part of a research project on pumas, along the margins of a hy- droelectric dam, on the lower Tietê riverba- sin. The study is the result of a partnership between the Pró-Carnívoros Institute and the Hydroelectric Power Company AES Tietê, a subsidiary of AES Corp. (SISBIO Licence # 45774-1). The goal of the study is to evaluate the environmental health of the areas underthe influence of AES Tietê, using the puma as a conservation tool, through the assessment, evaluation, and monitoring of their popula- tion in the study area.

The study animal referred to in this report was an adult female, captured on 5 July 2015, with a weight of 42 kg. The permanent denti- tion showed teeth in excellent shape, with no excessive wear, and her age was estimated at 4-5 years. After equipped with a GPS/sa- tellite radio collar (Sirtrack, NZ), she was re- leased at the capture site. Until early October, we collected 2,053 locations of this cat, com- prising an area of 30 km2, which suggests she was a resident female used to prey upon athriving population of capybaras Hydrochae- ris hydrochaeris, as shown by the prevalence of this species in more than 20,000 wildlife photographs taken by our camera traps (53%, n = 12,215 photos of capybaras).

On 8 October 2015, the radio collar stopped sending locations to the satellite. After dis- cussion with the manufacturer and testing its voltage to discard a possible tempora- ry malfunction, we found it had actually stopped working. On 24 October we sent our field team to check the vicinity of her last coordinates, searching for the VHF si- gnal of the collar. After detecting the VHF signal with a handheld receiver and a di- rectional antenna, our team homed in and found the signal was coming from inside a ditch in a cattail patch, in high grass ve- getation within a matrix of sugarcane. As they approached, it became clear that the signal was coming from the water. Assu- ming at this point that someone had killed the puma and discarded the collar, they waded in, to search for it. To their surprise, they found a large anaconda, measuring 4.20 m and weighing 94 kg (as later veri- fied), in the shallow water (Fig. 1). Apparently, the puma had been swallowed by the anaconda.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

As we needed to recover the radio collar, our field team, under our instruction, carefully captured the anaconda, aiming to keep it un- der observation in an adequate location un- til it regurgitated the collar. With a rope, the anaconda was lassoed and lifted onto the back of a pickup truck. During this operation, which lasted approximately 15 minutes, the snake was unusually apathic. Therefore, it was no surprise to find that, unfortunate- ly, the anaconda died after a few minutes. When informed of this, we decided to take it immediately to the Bauru Zoological Park, in the town of Bauru, SP, to conduct a necropsy by qualified veterinarians (Fig. 2). According to the necropsy report, the macroscopic di- agnosis showed pulmonary congestion with presence of parasites, oral necrosis, hepatic impairment caused by disruption of the liver, and parasitic tapeworm infestation in the in- testine. Thus, it was clear that the ease with which the animal was captured was due to the fact that it was highly debilitated and in state of imminent death.

Macroscopic examination of the carcass revealed multiple injuries, most certainly inflicted during the fight with the puma. We cannot affirm how the meeting between the anaconda and puma started. However, the evidence suggested a significant fight, whereby the felid proved to be a formidable opponent to the reptile. There were seve- ral external claw and tooth injuries on the snake, on the head, mouth, along the back and tail, as well as serious internal injuries, including lacerations on the liver (Fig. 3). Although the following is only speculation, it is interesting to note that the anaconda was missing a considerable portion of the tail, from some previous event, which had completely healed. Since this stump su- stained several fresh claw and tooth marks, it is possible that the cat mistook it for the head of the snake, during the fight, serving as a distraction that may have given a cru- cial advantage to the anaconda. Despite its unfortunate end (Fig. 4), the incident raises important questions regarding the natural relationships between these formidable predators, and the role they play in their respective niches in the wild. Anacondas have been reported to prey on large prey, such as capybaras, caiman Caiman sp., and even domestic dogs Canis familiaris, calves Bos taurus and sheep Ovis aries, but records like the one we describe here are rare. To our knowledge, this is the first record of an anaconda preying on a top predator like the puma.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Source : Predation of an adult puma by an anaconda in south- eastern Brazil

Note : The weight of this anaconda (94 kg) include the weight of the consumed cougar. This anaconda must have weight around 52 kg with empty stomach. Reply