Inhale, Exhale

Look: Scientists finally discover how boa constrictors can eat giant meals without suffocating

by Jennifer Walter
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
Detail and close up of  Boa constrictor - Boa constrictor  imperiator photographed in studio locatio...
Henrik Sorensen/DigitalVision/Getty Images

Henrik Sorensen/DigitalVision/Getty Images

The boa constrictor may be non-venomous, but the 10-foot-long snake is known for its lethality in other ways.

Boas are known to wrap their thick bodies around animals and squeeze them to death.

Then, they swallow their prey whole — fur, skin, bones, and all — and let their digestive systems do the work.

Joe McDonald/The Image Bank/Getty Images
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