It was a stunt so silly, so ludicrous, some could only assume it had to be a fake- out until they watched the footage.
Paul Rosolie is an American naturalist, author, who had a strong attachment to the Amazon Rainforest; he took a very risky idea to conduct a campaign worldwide so that the people are informed and aware of the devastation of one of the most important ecosystems in the world. His strategy? To be eaten by a 20-foot long anaconda.
Indeed you did read that right.
As a man who had lived in the jungles of the Amazon and who understood the ecology and culture of the jungle better than anybody else due to the fact that he had been staying there since more than ten years,
Rosolie felt that drastic measures were required to create awareness to the world about the de-forestation and environment exploitation that came to be experienced in the Amazon. He had grown fed up with the lack of action on the crisis and came up with a publicity seeking scheme to harness the influence of shock and spectacle to inspire action.
It was a mad and also a coldly-placed plan. Rosolie was not going to die- but the danger was certainly great. He had special reinforced carbon fibre suit designed to protect against the bulk of the pressure used in the constriction of the snake and the digestive juices and poor oxygen density conditions in the animal.
Cameras, communication systems and oxygen tank were fitted into the suit. Care might be taken, but with months of preparation, and the guidance of science, there was no method of completely simulating what would occur, when a living thing attempted to eat a fully grown man.
The stunt was shot as a Discovery Channel special that was aptly named Eaten Alive and the plan was carried out in the depths of the Amazon jungle. Rosolie also wanted to see a giant anaconda that he had met during his research and conservation activities. On having found the appropriate specimen, he exposed himself to the snake by offering his arm to it.
What followed was also frightening and incriminating.
The giant anaconda attacked and attached itself to his arm and he was wrapped in a flash by its powerful body. The pressure was huge despite the shielding by the suit. Rosolie was physically ready, but mentally was strangled by the tightness. As the time went on his breathing grew harder and harder, his heart pounded, and his courage failed him.
Rosolie narrated occurring needles in real time with a radio mic. She has got my arms up, he whispered. Her mood is telling me that there is nothing I can do. However, it was not much time that his mission was overruled by his survival instincts. The agony, pressure and feeling of claustrophobia aggravated to the extreme. and he yelled out: I am declaring it! I require assistance!”
His team moved into action in a few moments and managed to drag him out of the grip of the snake before it could engage in the swallowing process. The interview was done. Bruised, rattled and with severe emotional shock, he nevertheless survived.
The initial reaction of the broadcast was divided. Critics dismissed the special as a stunt and it was not a literal display of watching a man be eaten full by a snake. People were also wondering why it was necessary to disturb an anaconda which is a protected animal in such manner. But in the case of Rosolie, this was not entertainment. It was knowledge.
Rosolie in interviews after the incident stressed his reasons on multiple occasions: “I saw the rainforest go up smoke year after year, and I just couldn had enough of it. I needed to make them to look, something that would make a difference.
and look they did. The program resulted in huge media attention and a wave of discussions online and in the scientific circles. Although certain conservationists criticized the method, few people could claim that Rosolie had not helped in meeting his objective: he made people talk about the Amazon, deforestation, and the urgent requirement to conserve it.
To most people the stunt appears unreal. Yet in the age of information intrusion and information fatigue, Paul Rosolie accomplished what very few people could: He turned the world to look at a dying rainforest by becoming its bait. Quite literally.
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