The Discovery Channel recently announced a new show in which, it says, "naturalist and wildlife filmmaker Paul Rosolie enters the belly of an anaconda in a custom-built snake-proof suit."
Sounds crazy, right?
According to that, a man will put on a suit that will stop him from being crushed by the constricting power of the largest snake on the planet, one that grows longer than 29 feet. Even more, it is implied that he will be "eaten alive" and somehow be able to breathe, survive, and emerge from the belly of the beast.
We didn't buy it, so we checked with Frank Indiviglio, a herpetologist and author who worked with the Bronx Zoo for more than 20 years. He now consults with zoos and writes about snakes and other creatures.
"Nonsense; not possible," he told us in an email.
He also followed up with us on Twitter:
@kevloria Discovery has taken a real nosedive in recent years; more nonsense
— Frank Indiviglio (@findiviglio) November 5, 2014
Discovery hasn't explained what it means when it says Rosolie "enters the belly of an anaconda," and Indiviglio didn't offer further explanation about what that could entail, but some of the factors that would make that stunt hard to survive would be finding a suit that could survive the pressure and allow breathing while inside a snake.
Plus, Rosolie says he "would never hurt a living thing," so he would then have to get out of the snake without cutting it open, which is even more improbable.
We contacted Discovery to ask if they actually showed Rosolie being eaten alive and safely emerging without harming a snake, but they told us that they were not putting any more information out at this time.
The Discovery Channel has developed quite a reputation for passing off fiction as fact of late, especially among scientists. This has happened with Shark Week shows about monster sharks or mermaids — shows that misled people into thinking fictional creatures are out there. Other fake documentary gems have titles like "Russian Yeti: The Killer Lives."
Sounds like nonsense to us, too.
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