Boa Constrictor Boa constrictor

The Boa Constrictor is a large snake native to Central and northern South America. Like Pythons and Anacondas, Boas are not venomous but strangle and suffocate their prey by curling their immense bodies round the victim and squeezing so that the victim cannot breathe in.

Boas differ from pythons in giving birth to live young rather than laying eggs.

The Boa Constrictor is the only animal whose English common name is the same as its scientific/taxonomic name (or one of two if the Edible/Fat Dormouse is referred to as the Glis glis).

They can grow to some 12 feet and live for 20 years. Prey is generally rodents but can include reptiles, amphibians and birds.

The Boa is generally arboreal but can cross land and water. The 3 photos immediately above and 3 below were taken in Costa Rica by Alexandra Makhnina.

The local birds alert each other and other animals to the boa's prescence when it is on the move.