Ketua Bahagian Ular dan Buaya Athira Faiqah Md Wahi, head of reptiles and crocodiles, with the yellow anaconda snakelets at the Melaka Butterfly And Reptile Sanctuary. - Photo: Bernama
MELAKA: The Melaka Butterfly and Reptile Sanctuary has successfully bred the yellow anacondas (Eunectus notaeus) after trying for more than 13 years.
Manager Qurratu A'in Rohaminordin said the conservation centre welcomed 14 snakelets on June 5.
"Yellow anacondas may form breeding balls, consisting of one female and multiple males. The males compete for the female, and the strongest and largest male will breed with the female.
"But we only have one female and one male anaconda here, so we have to control the optimum temperature between 33°C and 42°C during the gestation period," she told Bernama when contacted.
She said the two yellow anacondas mated for the first time on March 25, 2022, despite the usual period between September and December every year.
"The female yellow anaconda showed signs of being gravid at the beginning of January when it started refusing food and gaining weight. It was also often seen sunbathing under the lights provided, so we maintained a warm temperature to suit the reptile's condition.
"The zoologist who monitored the development of the female anaconda reported that it had increased in size and we decided to close the enclosure to ensure that it does not feel threatened and removed the male anaconda from the enclosure to prevent the female from being disturbed,” she said.
The ovoviviparous reptile develops eggs inside their body and give birth to already hatched young.
"This means they give birth to live young after developing and retaining the eggs inside their bodies,” she said.
She added that the baby yellow anacondas, about 0.6m long and weigh around 170g, were already independent at birth and did not hesitate to bite when threatened, and could swim well.
"All of these yellow anaconda snakelets will be on display for public viewing when the time is appropriate and when their condition has stabilised under the care of the zoologists at the conservation centre.
"Although the yellow anaconda is not a local snake species, the reptile breeding and conservation efforts carried out by Malaysian zoologists prove that they are world class and on par with their foreign counterparts,” she said. - Bernama
