I want to focus on one legendary snake in the Amazon that may be known by a few different names including, Yacumama, Quetzalcoatl, Minhocão, and Sachamama. This snake is said to reach sizes of 160+ feet in length with a head that can measure 6 feet across or greater. To put it in prespective, the snake would reach from the back of the endzone to the fifty yard line of any NFL field. That is one long animal. With a head measuring 6 feet wide, a human would be nothing more than a snack for such a creature.
The myth of the existence of these great snakes was further fueled in 1906 when world famous explorer, Percy Fawcett claimed of shooting a giant snake. In his words, “We stepped ashore and approached the reptile with caution. It was out of action, but shivers ran up and down the body like puffs of wind on a mountain tarn. As far as it was possible to measure, a length of 45 feet lay out of the water, and 17 feet in it, making a total length of 62 feet ... such large specimens as this may not be common, but the trails in the swamps reach a width of six feet and support the statements of Indians and rubber pickers that the anaconda sometimes reaches an incredible size, altogether dwarfing the one shot by me. The Brazilian Boundary Commission told me of one killed in the Rio Paraguay exceeding 80 feet in length!"
After Mr. Fawcett’s claims, there has been little research into what these large snakes are, if they are not Anacondas. Now on the scene is the father/son team of Mike and Greg Warner. They have mounted two expeditions into the Amazon to find evidence of these ginormous snakes. During these expeditions Mike Warner talked to hundreds of natives and workers who had encounters with the Yacumama. He researched thousands more. He notes that both native tribes of certain African regions and natives near the Amazon River in South America describe a huge snake that "carries its water with it.”
Over the years, many sightings of Yacumama have included descriptions of the snake as having horns on its head. This feature, mentioned in many sighting reports, has led the Warner’s to this hypothesis; that the Yacumama could be a prehistoric version of the modern day caecilian. Most of the 50 or so species of caecilian that are cataloged do have a groove running along either side of the head that contains retractable tentacles. To untrained observers, they may appear as horns.
According to Mike Warner, "The exact species of this creature is unknown but we believe that the physical characteristics and behavior are that of a snake with behavior similar to a caecilian."
Beyond their hypothesis’s, the Warner’s claim to have evidence of the existence of the Yacumama. The evidence is so convincing, that National Geographic Society has expressed great interest in their findings and wants to film a new expedition to the area.
Imagine if this creature really exists? Would it give new meaning to the dragon tails of old. Will it renew the search for other aquatic sea monsters? Could Nessie, Bessie, Yacumama all be related? I am looking forward to the future expeditions of the Warners and see what evidence they come back with.
