The 6.5-meter anaconda surprised the celebrity.
Recently, the premiere of the National Geographic documentary series "From Pole to Pole with Will Smith" took place. One of its episodes was filmed in the Amazon, during which an important discovery was made. Specifically, a new species of anaconda was discovered, with the direct involvement of Will Smith himself.
Smith, along with venom expert Brian Fry and guides from the Waorani tribe, deliberately combed the riverbank thickets in search of anacondas. Fry collects their scales for analysis, which allows tracking the level of pollution in the local water. During the search, the expedition members encountered a female green anaconda measuring about 6.5 meters long, which made a significant impression on Smith. Subsequently, it impressed the scientific community as well, as DNA analysis revealed that this is a completely new species.
Following this discovery, the previously unified species of green anacondas had to be divided into northern and southern species, Eunectes akayama and Eunectes murinus. It is believed that they descended from a common ancestor but diverged around 10 million years ago. The already known northern green anacondas inhabit Venezuela, Colombia, Suriname, French Guiana, and the northern part of Brazil.
Willard Carroll (Will) Smith II (born September 25, 1968, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) is an American actor, director, and hip-hop artist. He is a winner of the Oscars, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Golden Globe Awards, as well as two Grammy Awards. In 2008, Will Smith topped Forbes' list of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, earning $80 million in a year. Smith became the first actor in Hollywood history whose eight consecutive films grossed over $100 million each at the box office.
For his role as Richard Williams in the biographical sports drama "King Richard" (2021), he received the Oscar for Best Actor. At the 2022 ceremony, shortly before winning, Smith slapped host Chris Rock after Rock made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The scandalous event received widespread media coverage and criticism of Will's actions, leading to his resignation from the Academy along with a ten-year ban from attending all their events.
