What’s the difference between boas, pythons and anacondas? First of all, anaconda is a species of boa, not a separate type of snake. These snakes have some things in common: they are constrictors, killing their prey by wrapping around it and suffocating it. Find out more!

Also, they are considered primitive snakes with two lungs (most snakes have only one) and remnants of hind legs and pelvic bones. Pythons have one more bone in their head than boas do and some additional teeth.

A boa is a constrictor, meaning that it grabs its prey with its teeth and quickly wraps its coiled body around the prey and squeezes. But a boa doesn’t actually crush the prey and break its bones—it just squeezes tightly so that the prey animal’s lungs cannot expand, and it suffocates. With each exhale, the snake takes up more space.

They remain still and hidden until a possible meal comes close; they then strike forward quickly to catch it. Boas flick their tongue in and out to catch scent particles from the air. This way of smelling helps them find their prey.

Nevertheless, boas may eat rodents, birds, lizards, frogs, and small to medium-sized mammals like opossums, monkeys, pigs, or deer. Some anacondas have been known to eat animals as large as a young tapir or even a caiman.