Diver records close encounter with a monster 23-foot anaconda

Bartolomeo Bove is a professional shark diver and underwater videographer. At the end of July 2019 he traveled to the State of Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil to dive in the Formoso River with the largest living snake, the Green Anaconda. The anaconda filmed in the video is a massive 7 meters (23 foot) female weighing around 90 kilograms (200 lbs).

The Formoso River runs through the Cerrado (the Brazilian Savannah) in the proximity of a city called Bonito, in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, in Brazil. The rivers and the bodies of water around the Bonito area are the only places in South America where Anacondas can be found in crystal clear waters, and therefore diving with them is possible. Other places where they are found are marshes and rivers too murky and turbid to take a dive in. End of July/beginning of August marks in that region the peak of the winter, the best time to dive with these majestic creatures. During this time the anacondas wake up from hibernation to shed their skin, feed and mate.

The river water temperature is 22-24 degrees year round and when during winter the air is generally cooler than the water the anacondas spend more time in the water. The anaconda swims calm and peaceful, completely indifferent to our presence, some times she comes closer curious about my camera licking the lens. The behavior of the anaconda debunks the myth that it is an aggressive and violent creature that can endanger people's life. It is without a doubt an extremely strong predator and the largest of all snakes that can react if threatened or molested, to be treated with a lot of respect.