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Sven Tränkner

Permanent exhibition

Anaconda


The anaconda is one of the most popular and oldest exhibits in the Senckenberg Natural History Museum Frankfurt. The almost 100-year-old public favorite has impressed several generations.
Starting Feb. 1, however, she will be taking a kind of wellness vacation for a few weeks. Nevertheless, visitors can exchange themselves with her. You can find the address on this page.

For almost 100 years, the over five meter long snake with prey has been a favorite of visitors to the Senckenberg Naturmuseum Frankfurt.

The great anaconda (Eunectes murinus) has – above a certain size – no natural enemies. It is at the top of the food chain and eats everything that surprises it as a lurking hunter and can overpower it with its immense physical strength and mass. In many places, capybaras (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris), the world’s largest rodents, are the main food source of the large constrictor snakes. To devour the meal, the reptile literally pulls its flexible body over the prey with the help of its very mobile jaws. The taxidermist of the time created the unusual arrangement of capybara and the anaconda in the looping phase in coordination with Senckenberg reptile researchers of the time. 

The extraction of anaconda

And off we go!
With such a gigantic animal, you need all the help you can get.
Across the yard…
…and off to check whether everything is in order.
The anaconda is carefully placed.
Here it remains for the time being. But not for long!
Historical image of the anaconda from 1927. Since then, the dermoplastic has been one of the highlights of the museum and has left its mark on generations of visitors.

Return in the near future

On Feb. 1, 2023, the display case will be unlocked and the dermoplastic will be removed for renovation. It is planned to return the popular “big mouth” to the exhibition at the end of April 2023. There, it will be on display in its usual place, but in an environment that has been redesigned in terms of content and graphics. The glass cases surrounding the showpiece will address various questions: Are dinosaurs related to today’s reptiles? What do herpetologists do? What snakes are there in Germany? And how do poisonous snakes differ from strangler snakes?

To ease the “anaconda-free time” for museum visitors, there will be a “star cut” with information about the popular reptile that can be taken home. Using the form below, visitors can engage in dialogue with the snake, inquire about its current condition, and also share their own stories, photos, and drawings about the exhibit.

Contact

If you have any questions for the Anaconda during its wellness vacation or would like to share your memories with it in the form of photos or narrated anecdotes, please feel free to do so using the form below.