- Sebastien Bascoules captured the anaconda because it ate a friend's dog
- The 39-years-old described the catch as 'dream come true'
- He asked his friend to hold the snakes tail so it wouldn't 'strangulate me'
- After pulling it from the river his young children posed for pictures with it
- The anaconda was then stored overnight in the family bathtub
A maths teacher waded into a shallow river and captured a 17ft anaconda hours after it snatched his friend's dog from the bank.
Sebastien
Bascoules, who lives in Matoury, French Guiana, hauled the 175lb snake
onto land in nearby Montsinery, after a friend phoned him with news of
his beloved pet, Minus.
Capturing a snake that size, the 39-year-old said, was 'a dream come true'.
Sebastien Bascoules, left, poses with the 17ft
anaconda which he pulled from the river as his friends help lift the
reptile to show how long it is
Mr Bascoules holds the head of the 175lb snake
as his friend grips its tail - the maths teacher asked his friend to
hold the reptile's tail so it wouldn't 'strangulate me'
The snake was kept in the Bascoules family's
bath over night as Mr Bascoules said it was too late to re-home the
reptile away from the residential area once they had captured it
Recalling the incident, Mr Bascoules said: 'At first I
was not scared because I thought it was smaller - but I was very
surprised by his strength and his length - more than five metres.
He
added: 'Since I was 10 years old I have liked handling reptiles but
this was the biggest snake I had ever seen and I had ever caught.'
Mr Bascoules asked his friend to help capture the anaconda, by grabbing its tail, 'otherwise it could strangulate me'.
But because it was still digesting the dog, Mr Bascoules said, it was 'very calm before I touched it'.
Mr Bascoules, right, holds the anaconda's head as he and his friend drag it from a river in French Guiana
Onlookers gasp in amazement as Mr Bascoules'
prized catch, which has now been blindfolded and restrained with a
t-shirt, is captured on film
Mr Bascoules brave son, Mano, five, puts his ear to the belly of the beast
Mano crouches next to the giant reptile which is spread out across the lawn of his family home
Mr Bascoules holds the anaconda's tail as his
children, from left, Noam, Solol and Mano, sit around the snake, and
Michael Bascoules stands behind it, to complete the novel family photo
After
blindfolding the wriggling reptile with a t-shirt Mr Bascoules put it
in his bathtub to store over night - but not before his three children,
Noam, 11, Solal, eight, and Mano, five, could pose for pictures with
it.
Mr
Bascoules said by the time he had captured the snake, it was too late
to re-home it away from the residential area, so he decided it could
spend the night at his family home.
Not everyone was a fan of the house guest, he said: 'My wife was worried it might escape from the bathroom during the night.
He added: 'We didn't have to be worried because I put it a cloth on his head so it was blind and became like a big worm.'
Mr Bascoules said once the snake was blindfolded with a t-shirt it was turned into a 'giant worm'
Mr Bascoules, who has caught 15-20 anacondas, described capturing one this big as 'a dream come true'
The next day Mr Bascoules released the anaconda six miles away into a river close to swamps where the creatures are often found.
The incredible event unfolded last year but video of the remarkable capture and release exercise has only just emerged.
Mr
Bascoules, originally from France, has lived in French Guiana for 15
years, and works part-time as a tour guide. He said he chose the area
because of its fauna - particularly reptiles and amphibians.
Mr Bascoules said snakes were 'really common' in French Guiana, where there is 98 species.
Not surprisingly, this isn't the first time Mr Bascoules has captured an anaconda. He estimates he's caught 15-20.
