The Gazette | Sucuri famous for videos died of natural causes in MS, experts point out

ALEXIA SOUSA

The report from the Scientific Police of Mato Grosso do Sul pointed out this Monday (1st) that the large anaconda found dead on the banks of the Formoso River, in Bonito (MS), last week, died of natural causes.

Military environmental police officers located the snake on March 24, after documentary filmmaker Cristian Dimitrius made a post on social media denouncing the animal’s death. He has been filming snakes in the region for ten years and named the anaconda Anajulia.

Local tour guides saw the snake floating and removed it from the water. Dimitrius told Folha that they sent him photos. From the images, the documentary filmmaker recognized Anajulia, based on the spots that the species has on its body.

In the publication, the documentary filmmaker indicated the possibility that the anaconda had been shot dead, but the results of the examination confirmed the initial surveys, carried out last Monday (25), which already ruled out the existence of punctures by gunshots or any other object. in the snake.

Still according to the Civil Police, Anajulia was found in a state of decomposition by the guides. The Bonito Police Station opened an investigation to investigate the causes of the animal’s death and requested an expert opinion.

On March 26, a team from the Mato Grosso do Sul Criminalistics Institute went to the place where the snake was found to examine the anaconda.

Criminal and veterinary expert, Maristela Melo de Oliveira said that some internal hemorrhages were found in Anajulia, but, due to the anaconda’s advanced state of decomposition, it was not possible to determine whether or not any pathology existed.

“We carried out detailed examinations of the animal’s entire skin and only a few non-recent scratches were found on the head, which is very common in anacondas, which are predatory animals,” said Maristela.

After analysis, the snake’s remains were taken to the Criminalistics Institute in Campo Grande (300 km away from Bonito), for further examinations.

“We carried out x-ray examinations on the snake, which could indicate lodged projectiles or broken bones, but nothing was found and we effectively ruled out violent death or death from external causes,” said the director of the Institute of Criminalistics, Emerson Lopes dos Reis.

“She was not affected by a violent death and, given this, the animal’s death remains a natural cause”, added the expert.

The snake has already been the protagonist of special BBC reports and documentaries and has appeared in various digital content.

The anaconda will undergo an embalming process, to preserve its appearance, and will be integrated into the collection of animals in the state’s Environmental Military Police exhibitions.

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