Jan 1, 2008 4:02 pm US/Eastern
Aquarium's Anaconda Gives Birth To 14 Babies
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
An anaconda at the New England Aquarium in Boston gave birth to 14 New Year's babies just after midnight.
The pregnant 16-foot anaconda finished giving birth to all 14 babies around 5 a.m. Tuesday. While most snakes lay external eggs, anaconda eggs remains inside the mother's body until they are about to hatch and then the young are born live, in a process called ovoviviparity, aquarium officials said.
Unlike mammals, ovoviviparous young gain their nourishment from the egg yolk instead of the mother's umbilical cord.
The anaconda gave birth to the young in addition to one stillborn and several unfertilized eggs, officials said.
Zoo officials said a litter of 14 was modest for an anaconda, which can sometimes have several dozen young in a single pregnancy. It was the first time an anaconda has given birth at the Boston Aquarium. Aquarium officials discovered the anaconda was pregnant in October, which does not happen often in captivity.
Young anacondas are completely independent of the mother once they are born. They will stay at the Aquarium for at least one month before being eligible for distribution to other aquariums and zoos.
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