Anacondas & Communication

Anacondas are one of the largest snakes in the world. Although the reticulated python grows longer, anacondas far outweigh any other snake on the planet; mature females are able to grow more than 30 feet long and weigh more than 500 pounds. Like all snakes, anacondas are solitary animals that live alone in the wild. Anacondas do have basic forms of communication to both intimated potential predators, as well as to attract and successfully mate with the opposite sex.

  1. Female Communication

    • Female anacondas are much larger than males. When a female is ready to reproduce, she emits strongly scented pheromones to attract males. Males are able to smell females ready to mate from long distances using a sensitive forked tongue and Jacobson's organ -- a specialized structure located on the roof of the mouth that allows snakes to sense minute details of the surrounding environment. The pheromones released by a female leave a trail on the ground for males to follow through the forest floor.

    Male Communication

    • Males use tactile communication in hopes of reproducing with a female. A male anaconda rubs his chin as well as his cloacal spurs along the back of the female's body. This primitive form of communication is an attempt by the male to coax the female anaconda into allowing him to copulate with her. Males often spend hours rubbing against females, driven by pheromones and the urge to reproduce.

    Breeding Balls

    • Sometimes up to 12 males follow the pheromone scent of a female anaconda and congregate around her, forming large mating balls. Males slowly wrestle with one another in an attempt to prove dominance to the female and be allowed to reproduce with her. Males wrestle with one another for up to four weeks. The female, being much larger, has the final say in which male she chooses for mating. Females also sometimes eat smaller males.

    Defensive Communication

    • Young anacondas are vulnerable to predation from a wide variety of animals that live in the same environment. Anacondas are non-venomous snakes and do not have any bright warning colors to deter predators. Instead, the snakes curl up into tight balls and hiss loudly with the mouth open. Anacondas have a large lungs and are able to create a loud, deep-pitched hiss that intimidates predators long enough to allow the snake to escape.