The Boa Constrictor

The Boa Constrictor

The boa constrictor was the most interesting animal I saw at the Memphis zoo. Josh and I held it at a class that we went to. It weighed around one hundred pounds, and it was a female.

Boa constrictors live in the tropical rainforests, savannas, and mangrove swamps, and they range from central Mexico to southern Argentina. They grow to be between ten and fourteen feet long. Boas are excellent tree climbers but mainly stay on the forest floor, and they do not like water. They use their tongue to smell and hear by the vibrations on the ground.

Boas are extremely particular about what they eat, and will even stalk their prey for days. They kill animals by squeezing them with their body and then swallow their victim whole, headfirst. They consume rats, birds, chickens, lizards, and basically anything that is a vertebrate. They are even able to swallow animals larger than their heads because the bones in their jaw and mouth are able to stretch apart. Since they are able to eat so much at once, they can often go months without consuming another animal.

Female boas do not lay eggs, but rather give birth to live young. They can give birth to up to fifty young at one time. Boas are camouflaged with the forest floor and are typically nocturnal.

I learned much about animals on our field trip to the Memphis zoo. The boa constrictor interested me the most. It is a very unique animal.