MELAKA, Aug 17 — The Melaka Butterfly and Reptile Sanctuary (MBRS) in Ayer Keroh welcomes its new addition, five baby green anacondas or Eunectes murinus, after its female green anaconda named ‘Jasmine’ gave birth through its reptile breeding programme.
MBRS managing director Gerard Wong said the five snakelets were currently cared for by in-house zoologists and would be on display for public viewing on National Day celebration, August 31.
“On August 12, a zookeeper discovered 14 baby green anacondas in the water area within its enclosure area, however, nine of them were stillborn despite being fully-developed.
“With the births, it is hoped that the population of this predatory reptile can be conserved to maintain the ecosystem as well as an inheritance for future generations,” he told Bernama here today.
The green anaconda is a semi-aquatic snake native to the humid tropics of South America, believed to be the largest snake in the world where mature females could grow to 9.76 metres (32 feet) and weigh 200 kilogrammes (kg), while males are smaller.
Wong explained that the 16-foot Jasmine was imported from South America by the sanctuary in May 2015 after obtaining permission from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan).
He said Jasmine was united with a six-foot male green anaconda named Ali in an enclosure since July 3 last year and the couple was always spotted together although no mating activities were recorded.
“The in-house zoologist suspected that Jasmine was retaining eggs in her body as she had refused food since Nov 2019, but still maintained her body weight of about 80 kg.
“Anacondas usually stop eating over the entire egg incubation period of about seven months because the reptile is ovoviviparous which means she retains her eggs until they hatch before delivering the snakelets,” he said.
He added that with the birth of the new anacondas, MBRS now has 10 anacondas in captivity including two yellow anacondas or Eunectes notaeus.
The sanctuary operates every day from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm. Admission is RM22 for adult, RM16 for children, a 50 per cent discount is given to those holding the disability card or certicificate and no admission is charged for wheelchair users.
Established in 1991, MBRS is a private zoological park with the role of researching and breeding more than 100 species of butterflies, reptiles and insects. The sanctuary also breeds over 200,000 butterflies each year.
Source: BERNAMA