This book is a fascimile of Jesús Rivas's Ph.D dissertation and contains authoritative information on the biology of the world's largest snake
A Venezuelan native, Jesús Rivas is the world's authority in the biology the green anaconda. Sorrounded by fiction, and myth anacondas remain one of the least known of the earth's large predators.; and one with the most missconceptions. Natural History of the Green Anaconda presents scientific and technical information about anaconda biology, from the first, and so far only, comprehensive field based study the biology world's largest snake. With full color illustrations, this books presents the first, and so far the only, study of green anacondas in the wild. While studies tend to be more laboratory based, this book present the results of long years of field data collection. Living in the field and "waking up in the job" the author believes, is the best way to really get to know an animal. While the emphasis of the study is on reproductive biology the author summarizes other aspects of the natural history of this, the world's largest snake. This book is a required reading for anyone interested in ecology of large predators, snake natural history, or tropical ecology. While Natural History of the Green Anacondas contains a lot of scientific and technical information, the results are discussed in plain English.
Jesús Rivas studied biology at Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas. His interest in reptiles led him to early specialization in various neotropical reptiles such as green iguanas, Orinoco Crcodiles, spectacled caimans and sea turtles. After working in several projects in Venezuela he enrolled in a Ph.D. program at University of Tennessee, Knoxville under the direction of Dr. Gordon Burghardt.