The largest-known snake in the world is the Anaconda, or Eunectes murinus, of South America. As we know snakes swallow their victims whole. It is a common misperception that snake’s jaw can be unhinged from the skull to allow something much larger than the snake’s girth to be swallowed. The jaws are actually connected by a ligament that stretches. Once the carcass is inside the snake it must be digested quickly before it rots in the serpent’s gut. If a snake cannot digest his prey before bacteria does, the snake will be forced to regurgitate it.

This clip shows a 6 m anaconda that swallowed a small hippopotamus and then regurgitated it. This is a perfect example showing what snakes can do with their jaws. Enjoy.