Mysore Zoo to receive 5 Green Anacondas

BANGALORE: From reel to real! People were astonished to see four anacondas in an English movie released in 1997. Now, if you want to see the real ones, just wait for four to five weeks, as decks are almost cleared for getting five green anacondas from the Colombo Zoo. They will be put on display at Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, Mysore.“All the formalities are over. Three days back, clearance from DFO of Chennai has also come. We are just waiting for health certificate from the Colombo Zoo authorities for quarantine purpose,” M N Jayakumar, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Member-Secretary of Zoo Authority of Karnataka, told Express.The Mysore zoo, perhaps the only zoo in the country to have green anacondas, had got the enclosure ready, he said, and added that the five anacondas were being gifted by the Colombo Zoo.Those anacondas are above one year old and they measure two metres. The zoo is lucky to get them.Recently, Sally Walker, a wildlife expert attached to the Zoo Outreach Programme, had convened a meeting of directors of all zoos in Nepal. There, the then executive director of Mysore zoo K B Markandiah met his close friend who is the director of Colombo Zoo. During the course of the discussion, the Colombo Zoo director mentioned about the “excess stock” of the green anacondas he had, and offered to gift them to any zoo.Markandiah readily agreed to accept the “gift” in order to display them in Mysore zoo. This is how the deal was struck.Mysore Zoo, one of the oldest zoos in the country, enjoys high reputation across the globe. Recently, it procured three pairs of cheetas from South Africa.About green AnacondaThe Green Anaconda is one of the world’s longest snakes, reaching more than 6.6 metres (22 ft) long. Although the reticulated python is longer, the anaconda is the heaviest snake. The longest (and heaviest) scientifically recorded specimen was a female measuring 521 cm (17 ft 1 inch) long and weighing 97.5 kg. The colour pattern consists of olive green background overlaid with black blotches along the length of the body. The head is narrow compared to the body, usually with distinctive orange-yellow striping on either side. The eyes are set high on the head, allowing the snake to see out of water while swimming without exposing its body.