Судлаачид радио дамжуулагч ашиглан байршлыг нь нарийн тодорхойлсон ч ногоон анакондаг байгалийн орчинд нь харах нь туйлын бэрхшээлтэй болохыг тогтоожээ.
Перу улсын Мадре де Диос бүс нутагт 2008-2020 оны хооронд хийсэн судалгаагаар ногоон анакондагийн (Eunectes murinus) амьдралын хэв маягийг судалжээ. Эрдэмтэд 50 орчим могойг ажиглаж, дөрвөн бодгальд радио дамжуулагч зүүн хөдөлгөөнийг нь хянасан байна. Судалгааны үр дүнгээс үзэхэд, могойнуудын байршлыг нарийн мэдэж байсан ч тэдгээрийг шууд харах боломжтой тохиолдол ердөө 17.7 хувьтай байжээ.
Аварга могойнууд гол мөрөн, намаг болон үерт автсан ойн өтгөн ургамал, унасан модны мөчир, навчны дор маш сайн нуугддаг байна. Тухайлбал, 5.63 метр урт, 100 кг жинтэй нэгэн эмэгчин анаконда ихэнх цагийг өтгөн намагт нуугдаж өнгөрүүлдэг бол, зарим эрэгчин могойнууд усны мандал дээр зөвхөн хамраа цухуйлган, навчны дор бүрэн бүрхэгдэн нуугддаг болох нь тогтоогджээ.
Энэхүү судалгаа нь ногоон анаконданууд зөвхөн алслагдсан ширэнгэн ойд бус, хөдөө суурин газар, хот орчмын бүс болон тариалангийн талбайн ойролцоо ч амьдардаг болохыг харуулсан байна. Тэдгээр нь ихэвчлэн үерт автсан ойн бүсэд байрладаг бөгөөд 18 фут буюу 5.5 метрээс урт биетэй аварга могой ч байгалийн орчиндоо ямар ч асуудалгүйгээр ул мөргүй нуугдаж чаддаг ажээ.
Эрдэмтэд энэхүү олдвор нь анакондагийн тоо толгойг тоолох болон тэднийг талбайн судалгаагаар бүртгэхэд томоохон сорилт болж байгааг тэмдэглэв. Зарим тохиолдолд могойнууд тухайн газарт байгаа нь баттай ч харагдахгүй байх нь элбэг тул бодит тоог тогтооход хүндрэлтэй байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
All people think that a snake weighing 220 pounds (100 kilograms) would be hard to miss. But deep in the Amazon rainforest, even an enormous green anaconda can vanish beneath a few fallen branches or a layer of leaves. Scientists studying these snakes in Peru discovered just how good they are at staying out of sight.
Green anacondas (Eunectes murinus) are among the largest snakes on Earth, yet spotting one in the wild is surprisingly difficult. They spend much of their time in rivers, flooded forests, and swamps, where muddy water and thick vegetation make them almost invisible.
A study published in the Journal of Natural History offers a closer look at this hidden lifestyle. By tracking individual snakes in the Peruvian Amazon, researchers found that even knowing an anaconda’s exact location doesn’t mean you’ll actually see it.
Why Giant Anacondas Are So Hard to Find?
Between 2008 and 2020, researchers studied green anacondas in the Madre de Dios region of southeastern Peru. They recorded 180 observations involving at least 50 snakes and fitted four adults with radio transmitters to follow their movements. According to the study published in the Journal of Natural History, the snakes were visible without being disturbed at just 17.7% of their radio-tracked locations.
Researchers often knew exactly where an anaconda was hiding but couldn’t see it. One female was particularly impressive. She weighed 100 kilograms and measured 5.63 meters (18.5 feet) from head to tail. During June and July, she spent 63.3% of recorded locations inside a densely covered palm swamp, occasionally appearing on floating grass mats.
Another snake, a male, took hiding to a different level. Researchers once found him buried beneath wet leaves and shallow water, with only his nostrils sticking out. In streams, he was partially visible in just 8.3% of observations. The rest of the time, he remained hidden among logs, trees, and riverbanks.
Hidden Beneath Logs and Leaves
The team found that anacondas didn’t need particularly unusual hiding places. Ordinary features of the rainforest were often enough. In rivers, fallen trees and tangled piles of logs were favorite spots for basking. Snakes could rest on the wood or curl themselves between branches, sometimes beneath vegetation hanging over the water.
Lakes offered a different kind of cover. In permanent oxbow lakes, all nine anacondas initially spotted by researchers were resting on floating mats of grass. In palm swamps, the snakes used thick vegetation, decaying plant material, and fallen palm trunks.
According to The Times of India, researchers also found anacondas tucked beneath eroded riverbanks and even inside a burrow whose origin was unknown. Some snakes were almost entirely underwater, with their heads barely reaching the surface. Others moved through flooded vegetation without exposing much of their bodies. One pattern kept appearing: when the snakes weren’t basking, they were almost always partly or completely hidden.
Giant Snakes Outside the Rainforest
The study also revealed where green anacondas were being found across the region. Of the 166 records that included forest-type information, 91.6% came from floodplain forests. Only 8.4% were recorded in non-flooded forests, known as terra firma.
Even in those drier areas, the snakes stayed close to rivers or streams. But anacondas weren’t found only in remote rainforest. Researchers also recorded them near rural communities, urban areas, river ports, and farmland.
Most sightings came from protected areas or privately managed conservation and ecotourism concessions. The snakes also used temporary oxbow lakes when they contained water, hiding among submerged vegetation, fallen logs, and accumulated plant debris.
These observations reveal a problem for scientists trying to count anacondas. A survey might find very few snakes, even when more are present but simply impossible to spot. And that’s perhaps the most surprising detail from the research is that a snake longer than 18 feet doesn’t need to travel far or disappear into deep water to escape notice.
Enjoyed this article? Subscribe to our free newsletter for engaging stories, exclusive content, and the latest news.
