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Escaped 3m anaconda shuts down swimming lake near Düsseldorf

Escaped 3m anaconda shuts down swimming lake near Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf authorities confirmed that the anaconda measuring around three metres in length was shut down by the rescue workers and reptile experts, TheLocal reported.

A fisherman was the first person who first discovered a giant anaconda in Latum Lake, Meerbusch, near Düsseldorf last Thursday. Since then, the yellow snake has made nationwide headlines and played hide and seek with the local rescue workers team. When local authorities have lost a hope to catch the boa constrictor, the huge snake was spotted sunbathing on Tuesday by Tobias Schütz, water manager in the fishing sports club. He was in a boat on the lookout for the reptile.

While Schütz immediately called the public order office, the fire department was alerted as well. They were supported by colleagues in Düsseldorf, who brought along a reptile expert. But after an hour of searching and trying to capture the anaconda, the men had to give up. Even though firefighters had cut back the dense bushes it made no difference – the snake had slid back into the water.

It seems the animal doesn’t want to be found, said Markus Juschka, reptile expert of the Düsseldorf Aquazoo.

“The only chance to discover the animal is when it is in the sun,”

Juschka explained and added that anaconda will not survive in temperatures below 20 degrees. The City Hall wanted to remove the snake from the water without killing it. After local citizen discovered the animal in a garbage, the boa constrictor has disappeared again. According to the reptile experts, anaconda is very shy and tries to hide from people in a lake. Almost a week the exception states until the fire caught the elusive anaconda finally.

Anyone wishing to legally own an anaconda first needs an official EU document stating that the snake was lawfully imported into the EU, purchased within the EU, or legally bred because the animals are a protected species.