Taken from JRE #1927 w/Forrest Galante:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5j9zRzzYROKT2GFCTfUbSd?si=ce5a348dfb4f4f8a

I can sort of understand that in a sense of like, I'm not an adrenaline junkie, like I don't go for skydives or any of that stuff, it doesn't drive me, but that thrill and rush I get of darting a bear or working with a lion or swimming with an anaconda, that fuels me for weeks.

I'm getting goosebumps thinking about some of them right now because I get so excited By and it's not just for a personal rush, but rather you know we're doing it for work or whatever But those moments stick with me forever, and I sort of get that but not like I'm just gonna Risk my life over this climb or whatever, you know, so what

Giant anacondas like cuz there's always been this thing about enormous anacondas that live in the rainforest.

So I love anacondas, I believe, and I've got a colleague, Brian Fry, in Australia actually, and he has a similar belief, that there are 30-foot anacondas.

Now 30 is a big anaconda, but you're talking about those mysterious, like, 50, 100 footers.

Okay, so take out the Amazon and take out anacondas for a second.

Think about where all the largest snakes are in the world.

Well, now, yes, but we've got all these wet tropical environments that have that house these huge stakes in Indonesia You have articulated pythons you have Burmese pythons you have African rock pythons Indian rock pythons anacondas all these big snakes Yeah, the only place that has a wet tropical humid high density of prey environment that doesn't have a massive snake is the Congo, Central Africa.

Now, stay with me, that area is home to some African rockbite and stuff, but not big monster anaconda-sized ones, right?

But during World War II, There was a colonel who flew over there, and this is a well-respected colonel I'm sure Jamie you'll be able to find this very quickly a well-respected like I forget He had like his wings or his patch of honor or whatever like very distinguished who him and his 2 passengers in the plane Both reported a hundred foot long snake.

They were there Dutch Belgium in the Congo They flew over at once went what is that And flew over it 2 more times to verify it, and got so low to the ground that they said the snake struck at the airplane, and all 3 people, the pilot, this well-respected colonel and the 2 passengers, had the exact same story of this giant snake in Central Africa.

And yet no big snake has ever been proven from there.

But it's also a very poorly biologically explored area.

And most of the time, when these animals get this big, snakes or otherwise, they're in very low...

did yeah, they did they're in very low densities, so That's the real photo over on the left there.

They thought it was a giant snake a 50-foot long,

But the story's fascinating of these kernels...

They don't know if it was an anaconda or a python or...

It would be an undescribed species because the only snake there, the African rock python, doesn't get that big.

Oh, it says it measured approximately 50 feet in length, saw brown-green with a white belly, has a triangle-shaped jaw and a head 3 by 2 feet.

The photo was later analyzed and verified to be genuine.

Van Leerd claims that, is that how you say his name?

I'm not sure, but that was the colonel, Remy Van Leerd.

As he flew lower for a closer inspection, the snake rose up approximately 10 feet, giving a warning that it would have attacked a helicopter if it had been within striking range.

But imagine flying over and having a snake sort of lunge at a helicopter.

So, Jamie, do you mind going to my Instagram

I posted a picture day before yesterday This is 18 feet and look at the size of it compared to me and how scary the snake is Now to think of yeah, like you said to bite like you're like a you're like an M&M Yeah, a snake that's

granted it's not 3 foot by 2 foot head, but still, that thing, you know.

What's the weight on something like that.

I was over 200 at broker scale Yeah, I was over 200 pounds

Wow Indonesian villagers claim to have captured a python that is almost 49 feet long and weighs nearly 990 pounds

I've seen this it's not there's no It's not verified at all.

This might be the 1 that's on the tractor.

There's a fake 1 on a tractor that's floated around.

It's like a wide-angle lens and the snake is right in front, but it looks

massive But this is NBC This is NBC News.

So these are all like retics and you know, there's there are big snakes out there.

So the heaviest is the reticulated python.

So there's quite a lot of 20-foot snakes out there, and then there's a couple 21 22s But that's it and so there's all these rumors of 30-foot snakes and 40-foot snakes and blah blah blah And there's nothing that's been verified outside of 1 skin I believe from, I want to say from Indonesia that is like, but skin stretch.

It says when a recreation park in Indonesia put a huge reticulated python on show last week.

Keepers insisted to reporters it was 49 feet long, make it the longest ever caught, but the find turned out to be a tall tail.

I have no idea why the snake has shrunk said 1 keeper when asked about discrepancy as the snake lounged on a tree branch Inside the cave before but things do shrivel up when you catch them you know like fish do like when you catch a fish

yeah well definitely when you tell people about it yeah I went fishing here in Austin this morning

right downtown literally right in front of the Google building we were playing Lady Bird Lake yeah it was awesome yeah really fine right

Yeah Yeah, so the biggest in the world is the Python right so they are bigger than anacondas

So it's sort of a toss-up The reticulated python has been clocked as the heaviest snake in the world, because they get fatter, but the anacondas have been clocked in slightly longer.

I think 26 feet is the longest ever recorded.

Did you ever see the Jennifer Lopez movie?

But that was always the rumor, is that there was enormous snakes in the Amazon, and that, you know, you just didn't see them.

I do believe that there are some mega fauna out there that are yet to be found that are in low Population

It's a proven animal It's been 10,000 years, But it doesn't mean that it couldn't be extant in certain remote areas same with some of these big snakes Maybe not 50 because maybe these things are embellished, but maybe 30 maybe 35 right?

And I just think that there are a few not a lot of these big things out there if you're 1 of these uncontacted Amazonian tribes, of which there are still several, West Papuan tribes, whatever, and you're seeing a 50-foot snake, nobody in the Western world, we're not hearing about that.

Those things can be happening and those stories get Embellished and passed on and all of that But we wouldn't even know until western science gets in there And it's sort of a double-edged sword could once it does it sort of ruins certain aspects of that right so But I do believe that there are big animals to be found still


Speaker 0: The Jerogan experience.

Speaker 1: I can sort of understand that in a sense of like, I'm not an adrenaline junkie, like I don't go for skydives or any of that stuff, it doesn't drive me, but that thrill and rush I get of darting a bear or working with a lion or swimming with an anaconda, that fuels me for weeks. I'm getting goosebumps thinking about some of them right now because I get so excited By and it's not just for a personal rush, but rather you know we're doing it for work or whatever But those moments stick with me forever, and I sort of get that but not like I'm just gonna Risk my life over this climb or whatever, you know, so what

Speaker 0: are you so different on? Giant anacondas like cuz there's always been this thing about enormous anacondas that live in the rainforest.

Speaker 1: So yeah, this is fascinating. So I love anacondas, I believe, and I've got a colleague, Brian Fry, in Australia actually, and he has a similar belief, that there are 30-foot anacondas. Now 30 is a big anaconda, but you're talking about those mysterious, like, 50, 100 footers. Okay, so take out the Amazon and take out anacondas for a second. Think about where all the largest snakes are in the world.

Florida. Well, now, yes, but we've got all these wet tropical environments that have that house these huge stakes in Indonesia You have articulated pythons you have Burmese pythons you have African rock pythons Indian rock pythons anacondas all these big snakes Yeah, the only place that has a wet tropical humid high density of prey environment that doesn't have a massive snake is the Congo, Central Africa. Now, stay with me, that area is home to some African rockbite and stuff, but not big monster anaconda-sized ones, right? But during World War II, There was a colonel who flew over there, and this is a well-respected colonel I'm sure Jamie you'll be able to find this very quickly a well-respected like I forget He had like his wings or his patch of honor or whatever like very distinguished who him and his 2 passengers in the plane Both reported a hundred foot long snake. They flew over at once.

They're like, wait a minute. What is that? They were there Dutch Belgium in the Congo They flew over at once went what is that And flew over it 2 more times to verify it, and got so low to the ground that they said the snake struck at the airplane, and all 3 people, the pilot, this well-respected colonel and the 2 passengers, had the exact same story of this giant snake in Central Africa.

Speaker 0: Interesting.

Speaker 1: Yeah. And yet no big snake has ever been proven from there. But it's also a very poorly biologically explored area. And most of the time, when these animals get this big, snakes or otherwise, they're in very low... Yeah, here's the picture.

Speaker 0: They took a photo of it

Speaker 1: did yeah, they did they're in very low densities, so That's the real photo over on the left there.

Speaker 0: What do they think it was?

Speaker 1: They thought it was a giant snake a 50-foot long,

Speaker 0: So that's the photo right there?

Speaker 1: I believe so. But the story's fascinating of these kernels... But they

Speaker 0: don't know what kind of snake. They don't know if it was an anaconda or a python or...

Speaker 1: It would be an undescribed species because the only snake there, the African rock python, doesn't get that big.

Speaker 0: What is the biggest snake that we know? Oh, it says it measured approximately 50 feet in length, saw brown-green with a white belly, has a triangle-shaped jaw and a head 3 by 2 feet. Oh my God. A three-foot head. The photo was later analyzed and verified to be genuine.

Van Leerd claims that, is that how you say his name?

Speaker 1: I'm not sure, but that was the colonel, Remy Van Leerd.

Speaker 0: As he flew lower for a closer inspection, the snake rose up approximately 10 feet, giving a warning that it would have attacked a helicopter if it had been within striking range.

Speaker 1: But imagine flying over and having a snake sort of lunge at a helicopter.

Speaker 0: I have a three-foot snake head. Jesus Christ.

Speaker 1: So, Jamie, do you mind going to my Instagram

Speaker 0: really swallow you alive? Look at

Speaker 1: this 1. I posted a picture day before yesterday This is 18 feet and look at the size of it compared to me and how scary the snake is Now to think of yeah, like you said to bite like you're like a you're like an M&M Yeah, a snake that's

Speaker 0: a tic-tac. Yeah, I'm chocolate-covered almonds. Yeah that are so good for you. Whoa, look at the size of that thing.

Speaker 1: That's an 18 footer.

Speaker 0: And look at how,

Speaker 1: granted it's not 3 foot by 2 foot head, but still, that thing, you know.

Speaker 0: What's the weight on something like that.

Speaker 1: I was over 200 at broker scale Yeah, I was over 200 pounds

Speaker 0: Wow Indonesian villagers claim to have captured a python that is almost 49 feet long and weighs nearly 990 pounds

Speaker 1: I've seen this it's not there's no It's not verified at all.

Speaker 0: Do they have an image of it?

Speaker 1: This might be the 1 that's on the tractor. No, it's not. There's a fake 1 on a tractor that's floated around. Well, it's just very forced perspective. It's like a wide-angle lens and the snake is right in front, but it looks

Speaker 0: massive But this is NBC This is NBC News. Let's see if it has images this sucker

Speaker 1: So these are all like retics and you know, there's there are big snakes out there.

Speaker 0: Look at the size of that goddamn thing. Yeah. Jesus. So what is the biggest snake? Is it a python?

The biggest snake that we know of?

Speaker 1: So the heaviest is the reticulated python.

Speaker 0: Look at the size of that thing. Yeah. How big is that?

Speaker 1: That's big. That's probably it's probably 20-ish. So there's quite a lot of 20-foot snakes out there, and then there's a couple 21 22s But that's it and so there's all these rumors of 30-foot snakes and 40-foot snakes and blah blah blah And there's nothing that's been verified outside of 1 skin I believe from, I want to say from Indonesia that is like, but skin stretch. That's the

Speaker 0: other thing too.

Speaker 1: That says it

Speaker 0: turns out to be a tall tail. It says when a recreation park in Indonesia put a huge reticulated python on show last week. Keepers insisted to reporters it was 49 feet long, make it the longest ever caught, but the find turned out to be a tall tail. So how big was it exactly?

Speaker 1: I bet it was 20-ish. 21, there it is.

Speaker 0: Yeah, 21 feet still. Yeah.

Speaker 1: Crazy. It's a big snake, man.

Speaker 0: But not 50.

Speaker 1: Not 50.

Speaker 0: I have no idea why the snake has shrunk said 1 keeper when asked about discrepancy as the snake lounged on a tree branch Inside the cave before but things do shrivel up when you catch them you know like fish do like when you catch a fish

Speaker 1: yeah well definitely when you tell people about it yeah I went fishing here in Austin this morning

Speaker 0: oh did you really

Speaker 1: right downtown literally right in front of the Google building we were playing Lady Bird Lake yeah it was awesome yeah really fine right

Speaker 0: in front of the Google building right

Speaker 1: in front of it.

Speaker 0: Yeah Yeah, so the biggest in the world is the Python right so they are bigger than anacondas

Speaker 1: So it's sort of a toss-up The reticulated python has been clocked as the heaviest snake in the world, because they get fatter, but the anacondas have been clocked in slightly longer. I think 26 feet is the longest ever recorded.

Speaker 0: Did you ever see the Jennifer Lopez movie?

Speaker 1: The documentary? Yeah. Yeah, it's great.

Speaker 0: It's such a corny movie.

Speaker 1: It's so good. The bad, like, snake head, if

Speaker 0: you watch it today. It's so bad. It's so bad. It's so bad. But that was always the rumor, is that there was enormous snakes in the Amazon, and that, you know, you just didn't see them.

Speaker 1: I do believe that there are some mega fauna out there that are yet to be found that are in low Population

Speaker 0: you believe in the sloth the giant

Speaker 1: I believe that has a and again. That's like the thylacine. It's a proven animal It's been 10,000 years, But it doesn't mean that it couldn't be extant in certain remote areas same with some of these big snakes Maybe not 50 because maybe these things are embellished, but maybe 30 maybe 35 right? And I just think that there are a few not a lot of these big things out there if you're 1 of these uncontacted Amazonian tribes, of which there are still several, West Papuan tribes, whatever, and you're seeing a 50-foot snake, nobody in the Western world, we're not hearing about that. Right.

Those things can be happening and those stories get Embellished and passed on and all of that But we wouldn't even know until western science gets in there And it's sort of a double-edged sword could once it does it sort of ruins certain aspects of that right so But I do believe that there are big animals to be found still

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Forrest Galante on the Myth of Giant Anaconda's in the Amazon