Brazilian Man Saves Grandson from 15 Foot Anaconda

An eight year old Brazilian boy is doing fine after his grandfather rescued him from the crushing grip of a 15 foot long anaconda.

Matheus Pereira de Araujo and his cousin, Flavio, were playing near a river on his grandfather's farm when the snake attacked.

The snake struck Matheus on the chest and began coiling around the young boy. The bite of an anaconda is not fatal; instead it allows the snake to hold on to their prey while coiling around them.

Anacondas are considered the largest snakes in the world, not necessarily for their length but their girth. They have been known to be as large around as a grown man and have been recorded at lengths up to 30 feet.

They rely on their enormous size and power to subdue their victims by asphyxiation or drowning.

As the boy's cousin ran for help, his grandfather, Joaquim Pereira was driving through the farm and heard their screams.

The 66 year old ran to the river bed and began wrestling with the snake. "I started fighting the animal and tried to loosen its grip on the boy's neck but the snake was too strong," Mr. Pereira told local reporters.

He then attacked with stones and a machete for nearly half an hour to free his grandson from the snake's grip.

The elder Pereira said the snake tried to wrap around his legs as well as his grandson's neck. "I kept hitting it with the machete but it felt like a rubber tire, it wouldn't tear," he told Bom Dia, the local newspaper.

A local snake specialist, Arif Cais, told the BBC that given the snake's incredible power "the grandfather's strength must have multiplied because of emotion." The zoologist also noted that if not for his grandfather, Matheus would have likely been drowned and eaten by the anaconda.

Eventually, Joaquim Pereira freed his grandson by killing the snake. His grandson was taken to a local hospital where he received 21 stitches to repair the bite wound on his chest that the snake inflicted.

He was released soon after and is in good condition, even venturing back to the river with his grandfather and the local news to where the dead snake lies sprawled across river rocks.

Of the giant snake coiled around his screaming grandson, Pereira told reporters "it was the most terrible scene that I've ever seen in my life." His grandson agrees and said "my grandfather is a hero."

Sources:

"Man saves grandson from snake" BBC News Video, February 9, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk

"Brazilian pries grandson from anaconda death grip" Reuters, February 9, 2007 http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070209/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_brazil_anaconda