The fear of snakes is as old as humanity itself, and “snake stories” have been popular in myth and folklore for centuries before the Internet. Instinct makes us afraid of them, and for good reason, it seems, since many of the world’s most venomous creatures are snakes. And the smallest of them are the deadliest.
However, most of the largest snakes in the world are non-venomous and are often kept as pets. We offer you a description and photos of the largest snakes in the world.
10. Black Mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) - 3 meters long
In terms of size, one of the most poisonous snakes on the planet is second only to its queen from the 6th place in our rating. It is also one of the most aggressive snakes in the world, as it often attacks for no apparent reason. And it is very difficult to escape from a black mamba. At short distances, it develops a speed of up to 11 km/h.
9. Olive python (Liasis olivaceus) - 4 meters
Sometimes this non-venomous snake, one of the largest in Australia, is confused with the mulga, a poisonous snake from the elapid family. The olive python suffers from this similarity, as it is often killed, mistaken for a dangerous "double".
Olive pythons are harmless to humans and feed mainly on small mammals, birds and reptiles.
8. Boa constrictor - 4.5 meters
These chameleons of the snake world can fit into any environment they live in. The coloring of the common boa constrictor ranges from green and brown to yellow or red.
Boa constrictors are found in tropical Central and South America. They are excellent swimmers, although they prefer to live on land. They will eat anything from birds to monkeys. Common boas are not venomous, and have small hooked teeth that they use to grab onto their prey before wrapping their entire body around it and squeezing it to death.
However, from hunters they often turn into victims, because there is a real hunt for the exotic skin of boa constrictors. Therefore, this species of snakes is on the list of those endangered.
7. Indian python, also known as light tiger python (Python molurus molurus) - 5 meters
This snake was once the queen of the jungles of India, Sri Lanka and the East Indies. Indian pythons are among the oldest species of snakes and have tiny protrusions on their skin that indicate they may have once had legs. They are not poisonous, but they have two rows of very sharp teeth that can cause a very painful bite.
Pythons prefer to eat mammals, and like the world's other largest snakes, they kill their prey by constriction. They are capable of killing a deer and swallowing it whole.
Indian pythons live up to 20 years and are considered very useful creatures for controlling pests such as rats and mice. In areas where humans have killed snakes or destroyed their habitat, the disease-carrying pests have become a serious threat to human health.
6. King cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) - 5.6 meters
This is the largest poisonous snake in the world. It is considered a very dangerous reptile, as its poison can cause death in 15 minutes. However, if possible, the king cobra avoids clashes with people. And when attacking, to drive away a two-legged enemy, it can make two or three "blank" bites, saving poison for hunting.
The Latin name Ophiophagus hannah means "snake eater." And it is completely justified, because the king cobra's diet mainly consists of other snakes, including poisonous ones.
5. Burmese python (Python bivittatus) - 5.74 meters
This snake has a beautiful patterned coat that resembles a giraffe's skin and is known for its calm nature. Burmese pythons are often kept as pets.
In their natural habitat, these snakes can be found in South and Southeast Asia. Their diet consists of small mammals and birds, and, similar to the anaconda, Burmese pythons constrict their prey until it suffocates. They then swallow the victim whole and may only feed two or three times a year.
Due to habitat degradation and demand for snake skin and flesh, these giant creatures are becoming an endangered species in the wild. However, their numbers remain high in captivity.
4. Hieroglyphic python (Python sebae) - 6 meters
Adult hieroglyphic pythons usually reach 4.8 meters in length. But there is unconfirmed information that in 1958 a seven-meter python was killed, in whose stomach a 1.5-meter Nile crocodile was found. Now it is difficult to say whether this information was true, since there are no photos or videos of one of the largest snakes in the world.
These pythons also attack people. In 2002, a snake swallowed a ten-year-old boy in South Africa.
3. Amethystine python (Morelia amethistina) - 6 meters
This species is found in Indonesia, Australia and Papua New Guinea. The amethyst python differs from other pythons by its large and symmetrical scutes that cover the top of its head. These snakes have a beautiful yellow-olive or olive-brown color with an iridescent sheen.
Amethystine pythons feed on small animals (including chickens) and often crawl into the yards of people who keep birds.
2. Giant or green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) - 9 meters
There are many legends and rumors about the size of the anaconda. British Percival Fawcett describes anacondas over 18 and 24 meters in size. And in 2015, a photo of a giant anaconda 40 meters long and weighing 2067 kg spread across the Internet, which allegedly killed 257 people and 2325 animals. It took British commandos in Africa 37 days to track down and kill it.
However, this photo turned out to be a fake, and the largest anaconda specimen currently known is in New York, in the terrarium of the Zoological Society. It is about 9 meters tall and weighs 130 kg.
Green anacondas live primarily in the Amazon rainforest and can be found in swamps, rivers, and streams. They are very agile in the water, and never stray far from it. Their diet consists mainly of iguanas, birds, turtles, and other small to medium-sized creatures. These scaly giants kill their prey by coiling around it and squeezing it in a deadly embrace, preventing it from breathing. Their extremely elastic mouth allows them to swallow their prey whole, even if it is much larger than the anaconda itself. And it can take months before the snake is hungry again.
1. Reticulated python (Python reticulatus) - 14.85 meters
The largest snake in the world was found in the jungle on the island of Sumatra. It was over 14 meters long and weighed 447 kg. Scientists have never seen a snake of such size. The monster was named Guihua and entered into the Guinness Book of Records. It is easy for it to swallow a person and even a medium-sized cow. And after such a meal, Guihua may not eat anything for several months.
Common reticulated pythons reach 5-7 meters in length and are distinguished by aggressive behavior. They can attack people and animals, both domestic and predatory. In one of the videos with the largest snakes in the world, a python killed and swallowed a small alligator
These snakes are able to dislocate their jaws to swallow prey close to their weight and up to 1/4 of their body length.
Although the reticulated python is quite common in the wild, its numbers are gradually declining. Poachers actively hunt for snake skin, as well as the gall bladder, which is used in Asian folk medicine.
The largest snake that ever lived on Earth
But even the world's largest reticulated python did not grow to the size of the titanoboa. This extinct species of snake, a close relative of the boa constrictor, lived on Earth about 61-58 million years ago. The titanoboa's body length reached 15 meters, and it weighed about a ton.
A giant snake lived in the humid and hot jungles of what is now Columbia. And if it had survived to this day, Korney Chukovsky would have urged children not to walk in Africa at all, but where this huge monster crawls.
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