“BREAKING: It is with great pain in my heart that I would like to let you know that the mighty large green anaconda I swam with was found dead in the river this weekend,” Vonk wrote. According to the biologist, several people have informed him that the reptile has been shot dead, ‘although there is no official confirmation regarding the cause of death yet’.
“I am so sad and at the same time so furious! What a sad and tragic loss. And how SICK do you have to be to do this to such a beautiful and unique animal!? This is so heartfelt and sad.”
You can see the message here:
The new species, called Eunectes akayima or northern green anaconda, turned out to be genetically slightly different from an already known species, and can therefore be called a new species. The snake is found in the north of South America: including Venezuela, Suriname and French Guiana. The team of biologists and scientists published regarding the discovery in the scientific journal Diversity.
Blow for biodiversity
According to the Dutchman, the anaconda was ‘as thick as a car tire’ and weighed more than 200 kilos. “With a head as big as my head. Out of complete awe and admiration a monster.”
Today Vonk writes on Instagram: “She turned out to be almost 7 meters long, which made this female a gigantic giant of a snake. Not only in size, but also in character. A very strong animal, a survivor, one that has been around for decades. was swimming around in Bonito. As far as we know, she was super healthy and still in the prime of her life, and might therefore have produced many offspring in the coming years. Since there are not that many of these types of colossal giant snakes swimming around, the blow to biodiversity (and this specific species in particular) is therefore enormous.”
He writes that he hopes that the perpetrators will be found and prosecuted. “I understand that a large-scale police investigation is already underway at the place where she was found. In the meantime, I can only be sad regarding how people time and once more appear to be able to destroy nature so aimlessly. It is so useless and such a deadly sin.”
You can see images of Vonk swimming with the snake here:
