Only weeks after its discovery in the Brazilian Amazon, a giant anaconda died tragically, most likely from a gunshot wound. In February, an international team of 15 biologists revealed Ana Julia, a gigantic serpent weighing around 440 pounds and measuring over 26 feet in length.
Bryan Fry, who oversaw the scientific research, revealed that Ana Julia was a southern green anaconda (Eunectes murinus), not a newly discovered species.
This revelation followed his team’s prior accomplishment in discovering a new species of green anaconda with the help of the Indigenous Huaorani people, which was accomplished while filming “Pole to Pole” with actor Will Smith.
Professor Freek Vonk, a part of the discovery team, shared the heartbreaking news on Instagram, mourning the loss of the gorgeous creature he once swam with.
Vonk blasted the unnamed attackers responsible for Ana Julia’s death, calling them “sick.”
Despite initial conjecture about the cause of death, Vonk stated in an Instagram post that there was no convincing evidence pointing to gunshot wounds.
The snake’s untimely death shocked the scientific world after it was discovered in the Formoso River in southern Brazil’s rural Bonito district.
Fry compared Ana Julia’s tragic death to shooting a panda, underlining the gravity of the loss, regardless of taxonomic classification.
Wildlife videographer Cristian Dimitris, who had shot footage of the serpent swimming alongside Vonk, established the snake’s identity using distinguishing face marks, making it one of the most identifiable anacondas in the world and indicative of its natural habitat.
Juliana Terra, an anaconda expert from the University of São Paulo, praised Ana Julia as an icon of the Bonito region. Her terrible death had a great impact on both scientific and local populations.