In the eyes of many people, only tigers are called the king of the forest and the king of beasts. However, there was a time when and were the dominant species in nature. It can swallow a jaguar alive in an instant, and the lives of many innocent people are buried in its belly. The anaconda is the most ruthless "character" in the snake family. Why is it now on the verge of extinction?
The behemoth in the tropical rainforest-the anaconda
In many people's minds, the largest snake in the world should be a python. However, everyone knows that the anaconda living in the Amazon rainforest is the largest snake in the world, and the largest snake in the world. The long anaconda can reach 10 meters in length and weigh more than 200 kilograms. Its entire body is thicker than a strong adult man. However, most anacondas, with an average length of about four meters, like to live in water on weekdays. Anacondas are diurnal animals. During the day they will remain motionless and bask in the sun, and at night they will come out to look for food.
Compared with ordinary pythons, the anaconda has no chin, and its mouth can be opened nearly 180 degrees. The two rows of teeth in the upper jaw can swim, which is beneficial to swallowing larger animals. prey. The most important parts of the anaconda's body are its tongue and eyes, as well as its skin scales. The anaconda's long tongue is like the metal detector in our modern technology, and the skin scales can feel whether the surrounding prey is moving. However, to determine the exact location of the prey, you still need to rely on the anaconda's eyes to judge.
Some netizens will not only question: "When anacondas are devouring large prey, aren't they afraid of their trachea being blocked and suffocating?" In fact, the trachea of anacondas can move, especially when they are devouring prey. It will be exposed to the outside, so you don’t have to worry about the trachea being blocked.
If pythons are found all over the world, then anacondas only live in South America. The tropical rainforest climate here is like paradise for anacondas. Anacondas are oviviparous creatures. In order to adapt to extremely complex living environments, anacondas can give birth to several or more than a dozen cubs at a time. Sometimes the survival rate of these cubs is very low and they are extremely easy to be killed by crocodiles or other ferocious animals. Devoured by living things. But once these cubs survive and become adult anacondas, they can dominate the entire tropical rainforest and become almost omnipotent.
In 2003, a film and television company in the United States spent a lot of money to shoot a true documentary, recording who would win between the beasts in the forest, the jaguar or the anaconda. The arena where the jaguar and the anaconda compete for supremacy is located near the river. For the anaconda, this is its home court. During the fight, the jaguar, a cat, has significantly reduced its physical strength. In addition to constantly biting the anaconda, it seems to be looking for No way to win.
During this life-and-death struggle, the anaconda became stronger and stronger, and its endurance was very good. Although the jaguar bit its body, it did not cause any harm to the anaconda. As the anaconda continued to move, it clung to the jaguar, and finally came with a surprise attack, causing the jaguar to suffocate and try to swallow it. The jaguar was almost unable to resist, and finally became a gluttonous feast for the anaconda.
Why are anacondas without natural enemies on the verge of extinction?
1. There are very few adult anacondas.
As we have mentioned before, anacondas are an ovoviparous organism, and they can give birth to several or more than a dozen cubs at a time. It is almost too difficult for anacondas to successfully grow to adulthood. Because when they are young, they are easily eaten by crocodiles, lions and other large prey. In other words, in the tropical rainforest, large ferocious animals have strangled the young anacondas in their cradle.
For example, our common crocodiles hunt by sneak attack and often feed on small animals and anaconda cubs. Especially when looking for food during the day, young anacondas will become their best prey. The young anacondas that have no power to restrain the chickens can only be slaughtered by them. As the number of young anacondas gradually decreases, adult anacondas will become scarce. This is also the main reason why the anacondas are on the road to extinction.
2. Changes in the ecological environment
As deforestation activities intensify, the ecological environment of the Amazon rainforest has been severely damaged. When vegetation coverage is reduced, wildfires are extremely likely to occur. In addition, these wildfires will also release a lot of greenhouse gases, including methane and carbon dioxide, which pose a huge threat to animals living in the Amazon. After entering the 21st century, according to incomplete statistics, more than 85,000 square kilometers of Amazon forest have been burned. Especially in the past two years, the central Amazon has experienced a surge in fires. Under this severe situation, the number of anacondas has also been decreasing year by year, and is now on the verge of extinction.
3. The existence of black market transactions
Many people continue to hunt and kill wild animals in pursuit of more profits, especially pythons and anacondas. Their snake skins are used to make high-end leather goods. Since adult anacondas are not easy to be hunted, many people People will attack its cubs. The number of anacondas is rare. In the black market transactions, the price of anacondas is also relatively high. As the saying goes, rare things are more valuable. Driven by profit, many people will risk their lives. Dangerous hunting of the anaconda caused its population to become increasingly smaller and smaller, and finally entered the endangered stage.
In the natural ecological environment, every animal has its own reason for existence. As the scope of human activities continues to expand, the damage to the natural ecological environment is becoming more and more serious. Once the balance of the ecological food chain is broken, there will be a terrible situation that will never be restored. For example, once anacondas disappear on the earth, many other large animals, such as jaguars, will lose their natural enemies. As their numbers continue to increase, the same will happen to humans. A disguised threat.
So in general, we humans should learn to respect everything in nature, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, travel low-carbon, protect the ecological environment, reject game, and protect wild animals. Only in this way will we not disrupt the ecological balance and prevent animals from becoming endangered.
