WILDLIFE PHOTO PROFILE
Green Anaconda. Bonito, Brazil.
One of the best experiences of my diving career was visiting the Pantanal and swimming with green anacondas. These highly misunderstood predators have been vilified by the media and the general public for years. When I jumped in the water with them, I was not sure what to expect. I knew they were not the monsters they were made out to be, because, the one thing the media is good at is - over exaggerating all predatory species. But I wanted to find out about their temperament. How tolerant they were with divers, how passive were they towards another species, once they have been seen. I just was not sure.

When we jumped in with this very large 4 meter snake, she wanted nothing to do with us and swam away. First, she swam off fast, then when she realized we were not a threat, she slowed down. She still kept swimming away from us, but she was not in a hurry. The snake was a total sweetheart, and I felt truly blessed to be in the water with her. The greatest thing I learned about her, was that again, the public has vilified another predatory species without knowing anything about them. This encounter happened, over a year ago, but I can still see it in my mind's eye. It forever will be one of my most treasured encounters with a wild animal.