In June of 2009, two Irishmen, father and son, traveled to the Amazon. It was the culmination of over two decades of investigation into the case of the Giant Snake.
They returned with what they present as ample evidence of the snake's existence, including a photo they believe shows the head of the monster. Is it real or not?
One thing we need to clear up immediately: the picture attached to the original article? Not part of the story. Presumably chosen by the reporter to illustrate the concept of "giant anaconda." The photo was not taken by the Warners, nor did they have anything to do with its use on that article.
The Peruvians who live in the relevant portion of the Amazon basin call it "Yacumama," which translates to "Mother of the Water." Mike and Greg Warner call it the "black boa."
It is said to be over 130 feet long, and six feet wide. The villagers say that it can suck up water and spit it out like a water cannon to knock monkeys out of trees. In much the same way that the Amazon archerfish can spit droplets of water to knock insects into the water.
The Yacumama travels in channels, which it creates itself, in the manner of game trails. In making these trails it knocks down trees over 90 feet tall, and leaves behind craters of devastation sometimes dozens of feet across.
The Warners have built a website dedicated to their find. It includes transcripts of testimony about the Yacumama which the Warners feel proves that it is a real animal. But which you may feel proves just the opposite.
A few salient characteristics of the yacumama: no one has ever seen one, despite its astonishing size. It creates its channels and moves around during torrential rainstorms. These storms can drop up to a foot of rain overnight, supersaturating the thin and already quite wet soil.
When the yacumama passes, the villagers report feeling a trembling in the earth, like a passing earthquake. It is accompanied by a sound "like a tractor."
A more mundane explanation for the yacumama is clear: these descriptions, and the visible result, are also characteristic of mud slides and flash floods. This is where the power of myth comes into play.
If you or I heard a roaring sound overnight during a terrible rain storm, and awoke to find a sinuous new channel of water winding through our front yard, "giant invisible boa" would probably not be the first thing to spring to mind.
Furthermore, many villagers attribute the boa's movements to perceived transgressions. One woman explains that the yacumama wiped out a particular portion of their land because that is where the village had been dumping its trash. The trash angered the yacumama, which struck back by destroying their land.
The best evidence provided by the Warners is a picture of what they say was a transient object in the water. Is it the head of a hundred-foot snake? Or simply a raft of debris, dislodged by seasonal flooding? Check out the pics and decide for yourself.
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