28ft anaconda sends crocodile to Destination F*@#ed
It’s been a good while since we had a proper beastly battle-royal here on Ozzy Man Reviews, but we’re stoked to announce that today is the day we bring ‘em back. Specifically, we’ve got two of South America’s most powerful predators throwing down like ancient enemies. In the first corner, we’ve got the anaconda – an infamous snake known for its size and enmity for Ice Cube – and in the other, we’ve got the caiman. They might be one of the smaller crocodiliacs around, but they’re still pretty bloody handy when it comes to throwing down.
Rightio, we’re heading to the tropical wetlands of Pantanal in Brazil. That’s where Kevin Dooley, a wildlife photographer from Albuquerque, New Mexico was taking a ride on-board a nice little river cruise and chowing down on some lunch.
Hearing some splashing in the water to his right, he had a bit of a squiz and then, we guess, just about s**t his britches. A 28ft anaconda had a caiman in a pretty nasty hug and was giving him a proper seeing to. “I was sitting in a boat having our lunch when this happened. I couldn’t believe it all. I heard all of this splashing, and when I looked I could see the caiman was suffering.”
Naturally, as a wildlife photographer, Kev’s first thought was to grab his camera. It’s fair to say that some of these photos are pretty bloody schmick. As the battle unfolded, he got loads of great shots. Apparently, the anaconda had the caiman in such a death-grip that the sheer weight and power of its constriction broke all of the crocodilian’s legs. “It all happened in around eight minutes,” he reckons. “I think eventually the anaconda ran out of oxygen and had to let go of the caiman.”
When the anaconda released its grip, the caiman got some licks in of its own, even if it wasn’t enough to save it from a grisly death. “The snake managed to get away and slither out. I think eventually the caiman died.”
Even as a wildlife photographer, Dooley was pretty bloody shocked to see something like this develop so close to him. “I felt very blessed and very lucky and somewhat sad for the caiman. I never thought in my life I would witness something like this.”
Final thought: This kind of thing is something you just don’t expect to see. How bloody good are the photos, though? Anyway, if you’ve seen anything you reckon can top it, let us know in the Facebook comments. Cheers, ya legends.
Just in case you missed it, here’s one of Ozzy’s latest commentary videos…Ozzy Man Reviews: When Animals Fight Back #6
H/T: UNILAD.