Man swallowed whole by anaconda: 'I was more scared for the snake's life than my own'

Naturalist Paul Rosolie volunteered to be swallowed alive by an anaconda so he could film inside the creature.

16:04 02 December 2014

Daredevil naturalist Paul Rosolie volunteered to be swallowed by an anaconda so he could film inside the creature in a stunt that caught international media attention and criticism, but now Rosolie has stated that he was more concerned for the snake’s safety than his own.

The experiment’s aim was to raise awareness of the snake’s habitat, which is being impacted by  gold-mining. Rosolie wore a custom-designed suit that protected him from the snake’s strong grasp and digestive acid.

When asked about the experience, he said: “I was more scared for the snake’s life than my own.” 

He added: 'I didn’t want to stress [the snake] out too much. I wanted to make sure that the suit was smooth and wasn’t going to hurt the snake,' Rosolie said. ' I really wasn’t scared. We tested this suit and worked on this with experts so we knew I was going to be safe.'

'I wanted to do something that would absolutely shock people,' Rosolie told the New York Post.  'Environmentalists, we love to preach to the choir. What I’m trying to do with this is bring in a bunch of people that wouldn’t necessarily know what’s going on in the Amazon.'

'For the type of attention that this is getting and for the type of emergency that’s going on down there — desperate times, desperate measures.'

'Once they see the show, these are people who are going to be supporters' he said. 'It’s a cool little dissonance there — they’re all coming out against me, but I’m the guy that’s been down there in the jungle trying to protect these things.'

The episode will air on the Discovery Channel this Sunday.