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In a shocking act, an American naturalist allowed himself to be swallowed alive by an anaconda in the Amazon forest.
American naturalist Paul Rosolie filmed himself getting eaten by an anaconda for a highly-anticipated television event that aired on Sunday on Discovery Channel.
Discovery Channel's twitter account was actively tweeting with details related to the feat.
Learn how @PaulRosolie's suit works with our interactive http://t.co/vceig7SDzm pic.twitter.com/Qy0lJy4TsU
— Discovery (@Discovery) December 8, 2014
#EatenAlive Fact: After a big meal, anacondas can go months without food. http://t.co/ZwXbaCSzMu pic.twitter.com/U3lUtxZtdj
— Discovery (@Discovery) December 7, 2014
Help @PaulRosolie and us save the Giant Anaconda! http://t.co/CG2Ci0VC9z https://t.co/xZyKYw6i88
— Discovery (@Discovery) December 7, 2014Rosolie is a naturalist, author, and award-winning wildlife filmmaker who has specialised in the western Amazon for nearly a decade.
This past summer, Rosolie donned a special suit to let a 25-foot snake, weighing over 400 pounds, eat him in a dangerous performance, the Daily Mail reported.
"I didn't want to stress the snake much. I wanted to make sure that the suit was smooth and wasn't going to hurt the snake," Rosolie said.
"I really wasn't scared. We tested this suit and worked on this with experts so we knew I was going to be safe," Rosolie said.
"I wanted to do something that would absolutely shock people."
Rosolie, a New Jersey native, spent 60 days hiking through a rain forest in Peru with a team of about a dozen people searching for the right anaconda to take part in the stunt.
In the process, the team also started the first scientific study of anacondas in the wild, taking down the weight, length and sex of each snake they came across.
It took 12 people fighting in water above their heads to catch the 25-foot 400-500 pound anaconda.
Herpetologists were on site to make sure the snake was in good health throughout its short captivity.
In order to attract the snake's attention, Rosolie doused himself in pig's blood and imitated movements of the anaconda's typical prey. The snakes usually hunt wild pigs, deer, capybaras and caiman.
"Experiencing that kind of power was worth everything, because it was just amazing," he said.
The event, which was aired on Sunday, focused on promoting a fundraiser to raise money to save the snake's habitat.
Here is the original video:
Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
