Mysore : The Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens has added another feather to its cap, with one of its three anacondas giving birth to a young one on July 25. While the anaconda had laid eight eggs, only one of them was fertile and hatched.

The zoo authorities have separated the newborn from its mother. This is being done as a precautionary measure, since anacondas are known to consume their young ones in the wild. Unlike other snakes, which lay eggs, anacondas employ a method called ovoviviparity, in which the mother keeps the eggs inside her body, before they hatch.

The newborn anaconda is about a foot long. The female anaconda which gave birth is aged three years and eight months and was impregnated seven months ago.
The newborn has been kept in an incubator, to ensure the right temperature for it to survive.

B P Ravi, the executive director of the zoo, said that the authorities were eagerly awaiting the first molting of the newborn snake, as it was too early to share information regarding the reptile.

It may be recalled that five anacondas were brought from the Colombo zoo in Sri Lanka in November 2011. Two of them died later. The snakes, which measured three to four feet, have now grown to about eight feet in length. The zoo is simulating the hot and humid climate of the Amazon rainforests for the benefit of the snakes.

Ravi said that other than Mysore, only the Ahmedabad zoo houses anacondas in the country. “Our fingers are crossed about the well-being of the newborn. We will know how it copes with the environment in a few days,” he said.