Green anaconda Facts for Kids
Eunectes murinus · yoo-NEK-teez myoo-RY-nus
The heaviest snake alive floats in rivers with just its eyes showing.
- 🏃 speed: not yet checked
- ⚖️ 551 lb250 kg1
- 📏 26 ft8 m2 long
- 🎂 10 years10 years1
- 🍽️ meat
- Doing fine (Least Concern)
The green anaconda is a giant snake. It lives in rivers and swamps and swims very well. Its eyes and nose sit on top of its head.
A green anaconda spends most of its time in the water, where its heavy body moves more easily. It is not venomous. After a big meal, an anaconda may not need to eat again for a long time.
Green anacondas are the heaviest snakes in the world, though they are not the longest. They live in slow rivers and flooded forests, and their eyes and nostrils sit high on the head so they can stay hidden while almost everything else is under the water. Unlike most snakes, the mother gives birth to live babies instead of laying eggs. Females are much bigger than males.
How big is a green anaconda?
Green anaconda in numbers
| Length | 26 ft8 m2large females |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | no checked number yet |
| Weight | 551 lb250 kg1females are much larger than males |
| Top speed | no checked number yet |
| How long it lives | 10 years10 years1in the wild (average) |
| What it eats | fish, birds, turtles, capybaras and other animals near the water |
| Where it lives | the swamps, slow rivers and rainforests of tropical South America |
| What kind | Reptiles |
| Is it in danger? | Doing fine (Least Concern)3 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- Baby anacondas are born alive, not hatched.
- The female is much bigger than the male.
- After a big meal, it can go a long time without eating.
Compare the green anaconda
Friends and neighbours
American alligator
Capybara
JaguarThree questions
Books about the green anaconda, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the green anaconda for free.
Where these numbers come from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Green anaconda, checked 30 October 2026.
- US Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: green anaconda profile, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, Green anaconda (Q207347), checked 30 October 2026.