Its 40 offspring weigh a third of the snake’s body weight

Oct 28, 2012 19:01 GMT  ·  By

Most people are not aware of this fact, but anaconda mothers do not lay eggs when the time comes for them to bring a new generation into the world.

Quite the contrary: they give birth to live babies, and sometimes the offspring which come out of their bodies are as many as 40.

As well as this, it seems that, grouped together, these not-so-adorable offspring weigh a third of their mother's body weight.

Once the anaconda mother is done birthing its offspring, it simply abandons them.

Thus, the babies are left to fend for themselves, and sheer survival instinct tells them to go looking for a puddle of water where they can hide and keep safe.

The babies that do make it through their first months of life grow to become feared predators which can take down and feed on various types of prey.