Exotic Animal Report #3: The Titanoboa

I really never expected to make this exotic animal thing a theme, but as you can see here and here its seems to have become a one. Apparently my Dad sensed it however, since occasionally he will call to tell me I've been slacking in the exotic animal reporting business, and my family is feeling deprived.

So, lo and behold, I have an update for you! Personally, this is a more scary I-wish-this-animal-never-existed-its-so-scary kind of an update, but the sources are reputable and I will just take courage in the fact that I will never see it in this lifetime. Unless there really are more of them in South America-in which case I will avoid it until there definite extinction can be confirmed.

Meet the Titanaboa-the stuff of nightmares. Existing in prehistoric times, this monster was 48 ft long, and 2,500 lbs and was the largest snake species in history. To give you some scale, that means it would reach waist height or higher on most people, and would be longer then the length of a school bus. The article I read calls it the T-Rex of snakes-it was bigger then even Hollywood imagined in its movie Anaconda. That right people-it was real, and scarier then the movie version. It fed on other titanaboas, large crocodiles, and fish; and to make it even worse, it lived in the water, making it a legitimate sea monster [take that all you skeptics who called my fear irrational! Good luck on your next cruise sucka!] Its remains were discovered in a coal mine in Columbia in 2005, in the form of fossilized bones. YIKES!

If you want further details or have a hunger for scary things, the Smithsonian will be making an exhibit of it soon and featuring a 2 hr movie with more details and freaky visuals. I have attached a clip in case you are not sufficiently freaked out. I will be here, trying not to to think about it when your done.

Personally, I prefer the Narwhal and Liger. This has been your exotic animal report via Julia. Until next time-that is, assuming they don't Jurassic Park this, bring it back to life and kill us all before then. Here's hoping!