8 Dec, 2014 22:07

#AlmostEatenAlive: US naturalist offers himself to 6-meter anaconda, sparks debate (VIDEO)

After working a decade to save the Amazon rainforests, Paul Rosalie decided that he could attract attention to the issue by filming a stunt – to be eaten alive by a 6 meter anaconda. While not actually being eaten,he certainly got the media hype.

The film called “Eaten Alive” presented by the Discovery Channel Sunday night showed Rosalie’s attempt to be swallowed alive.

Though Rosalie was all geared up – he had a special protective suit on him – there still was a great threat to his life. Anaconda snakes, the largest snakes in the world, usually suffocate their prey before ingesting it.

Help @PaulRosolie and us save the Giant Anaconda! http://t.co/CG2Ci0VC9z https://t.co/xZyKYw6i88
— Discovery (@Discovery) December 7, 2014

One of the challenges was to find a snake in the Peruvian Amazon jungle which took 60 days, the naturalist told AFP.

“When I went up to the snake, it didn’t try to eat me right away,” Rosalie said. “It tried to escape. And when I provoked it a little bit, and acted a little more like a predator, that’s when it turned around and defended itself.”

The snake coiled up around the 27 year old man, slathered in pig blood to make him savory to the predator. In the process the female anaconda latched onto his head in attempt to eat the man. However, as she squeezed him he called for help.

“Her crush force was fully on my exposed arm so I just started to feel the blood drain out of my hand and I felt the bone start to flex and when that got to a point when I felt like it was about to snap, I had to tap out,” he said.

Watch the constriction extended! http://t.co/XQeLuDgqgV #EatenAlive https://t.co/S4MRiIUtPd
— Discovery (@Discovery) December 8, 2014

Following the experience the environmentalist said he was proud to take up the adventure and it was worth the goal, even though he could have died in the process.

“Everybody on Earth knows that the rainforests are disappearing and most people can tell you how important they are, but still, not enough people are paying attention, not enough people realize this is such a problem.”

He said that a link to the show was set up to raise awareness and money to protect the Amazon and research anacondas.

Even though I thought the show should have been called #AlmostEatenAlive I still enjoyed it @Discovery
— Anil S (@_anils1) December 8, 2014

The show sparked controversial reaction among the viewers, while animal rights watchdog the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), highly disapproved of it.

Before it aired on Discovery PETA asked the channel to pull the show. “Shame on this pseudo “wildlife expert” for tormenting this animal, and shame on the Discovery Channel for giving him the incentive to do so,” the organization said in a statement on Saturday.

It elaborated that the “publicity-stunt” is “far-fetched” while the “snake was tormented and suffered for the sake of ratings—as animals usually do when they’re used for entertainment.”

“Anacondas go days without eating and expend the energy needed to do so selectively. Making this snake use up energy by swallowing this fool and then possibly regurgitating him would have left the poor animal exhausted and deprived of the energy that he or she needs,” it explained.

The viewers of the show were actually saddened by the fact that the anaconda didn’t eat Rosalie alive – as was promised.

#EatenAlive is about a guy saying he wants to be eaten by an anaconda and cancels when he gets eaten by an anaconda. LOL @PaulRosolie
— Martin Médus (@MartinMedus) December 8, 2014

Paul...you had one job. #almosteatenalive
— steffen deRousse (@sderousse123) December 8, 2014

Many followed a Twitter campaign with the hashtag #EatenAlive or #AlmostEatenAlive joking about it.

Stay tuned as I'm #EatenAlive by a cat pic.twitter.com/vywEJkyM48
— SHEHULK (@1shehulk1) December 8, 2014

In case you missed Discovery Channel #EatenAlive here is the graphic pic of when he was eaten. pic.twitter.com/VqoFLRP7nd
— Jeff Lewis (@ChicagoPhotoSho) December 8, 2014