Creatures, Myths & Legends

Video of alleged giant anaconda sparks controversy and debate

By T.K. Randall
May 15, 2025

Image: Murray Darling Carpet Python (illustrative)
Credit: Scarlet23 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (adapted) Reports of enormous snakes in the Amazon rainforest have been documented for centuries.

Early explorers of this vast and inhospitable region claimed to have witnessed giant anacondas measuring over 50 feet, and local villagers have described specimens even larger.

Today, the giant anaconda is recognized as a very real animal, though documented specimens have never exceeded around 30ft in length.

Some experts believe that larger specimens genuinely did exist, but such creatures are now extremely rare due to deforestation and other human activities.

Sometimes, however, a piece of evidence comes along that makes you wonder.The below footage, which was recently shared on Twitter/X and has since gone viral, appears to show a particularly massive snake swimming across the Amazon river in the middle of the rainforest.

Trouble is, nobody is quite sure if the video is actually real - with many suggesting that it is instead a hoax produced with CGI or generated using artificial intelligence.

Sure enough, the clip does seem a little wonky.

It's a shame, too, because it would be good to see some concrete evidence that really large anacondas still exist in the Amazon today.

Sadly, though, this particular video is most likely not the evidence that we are looking for.

#Viral ¡Impactante hallazgo! Una anaconda de gran tamaño, alrededor de 8 metros, fue captada arrastrándose sobre el lecho seco de un río en el Amazonas, dejando sin aliento a locales y turistas. La inusual escena, provocada por la fuerte sequía en la región, se ha vuelto viral y... pic.twitter.com/SrjUhKCFuU

- Última Hora Col (@ultimahoracol_) May 10, 2025

Source: India Times

Tags: Anaconda, Amazon