Getting ingested by another living creature is not something that anyone wants to think about realistically, but some people have actually been in that situation before.
And worse still, some have even put themselves in that situation on purpose.
Paul Rosolie has gone viral this week after an old clip of him has resurfaced, where he willingly tried to be ingested by a green anaconda, one of the biggest and most powerful snakes on the planet. If you haven't seen the harrowing footage yet, have a look:
Who is Paul Rosolie?
The researcher has dedicated his life to protecting animals, their habitats and ecosystems across the world over the best part of 20 years.
He has spent time across countries such as Brazil, India, Indonesia and Peru during his wildlife expeditions.
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Rosolie also spent years studying the green anaconda species, native to the Amazon, and thought that people should see something 'shocking' to generate some support for their aim to save the rainforest.
So, what better way to generate interest in the problem than to volunteer to be eaten alive by the massive snake himself?
Allowing himself to be 'eaten alive'
It all happened 10 years ago, offering himself as a succulent dinner for the predator, padding himself up in a custom-made carbon fibre suit and slathering himself in pig fat to be even more enticing to the snake, while being protected from being crushed.
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The ordeal was filmed for an episode of the Discover Channel series Eaten Alive, after weeks of searching for the perfect green anaconda, eventually finding the perfect fit, at 20ft long and 18 stone, the Peruvian snake was ready for the 38-year-old.
However, shortly into being partly swallowed, Rosolie called the experiment off while being squeezed by the snake, later saying that it was 'terrifying', as his arm felt like it was going to break and his breathing became restricted.
But what if he kept going, and was actually was swallowed whole?
Disclaimer: It's quite grim.
Firstly, the anaconda's needle-like teeth will anchor it to its prey, which for Rosolie was protected by the helmet. It will then wrap itself in coils around the prey, restricting its breathing and even crushing its vital organs.
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It has been documented that the green anaconda can squeez to a strength of 90 psi, the equivalent of having a 90lb (41kg) weight on every part of your body, with squeezing at this level certain to kill a human.
Once the prey is dead, the snake will begin to swallow their prey, as they are able to eat thing a lot bigger than themselves because of their unique adaptations.
Their jaws are famously mobile, meaning it can stretch and move beyond other vertebrates, as the two sides of the jaw are joined by an elastic ligament - and despite popular belief, it does not dislocate its jaw.
As it begins to swallow you down the oesophagus, the jaws will continue to stretch to ingest its prey whole.
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Most people think that anacondas are unable to swallow a human due to how broad our shoulders are, but as the shoulder joint is mobile, it can easily be pulled apart as the snake begins to swallow the body.
Their saliva glands would begin to moisten the prey to allow it to go down easier, going through its two swallowing movements.
The first is when the oesophagus muscles squeeze together to force the prey down, and the second is when their spine and body bend to allow the ribs to push in against the prey until it has reached the stomach.
It goes without saying that the chance of survival here is zero, as the snake's stomach juices would begin to digest you, as the small intestine begins to absorb nutrients, with anything left over going to the large intestine, where waste material is processed.
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The green anaconda would then need to move to a safe place after a big meal like a human in order to finish its digestion, as the weight makes it hard to be mobile.
It will take days or even weeks to finish digesting the body, depending on how big it is.
Told you it was grim.
Topics: Animals, Environment, Science, Weird
Joshua Nair