NOTE: VIDEO AT THE END OF ARTICLE
Yes, he really did try — and no, it didn’t end well.
If you think being eaten alive by a snake sounds like a nightmare, Paul Rosolie would probably agree with you — now. But back in 2014, the American conservationist voluntarily signed up to be swallowed by an anaconda. Yes, on purpose.
Rosolie starred in Eaten Alive, a Discovery Channel special that promised exactly what the title implied: one man, one snake, and a very bad idea.
Who Is Paul Rosolie?
Paul Rosolie is no daredevil thrill-seeker or shock jock — he’s a respected conservationist with years of fieldwork across the Amazon, India, Indonesia, and beyond. His mission? To protect endangered wildlife and raise awareness about habitat destruction.
And for Rosolie, nothing gets people’s attention quite like a giant snake preparing to eat you alive on camera.
“If a guy being eaten by a snake gets you to care about the rainforest, it was worth it,” he’s said in interviews.
Why He Did It
Rosolie’s stunt wasn’t for fame — it was to highlight the devastating loss of rainforest habitat, particularly for the elusive green anaconda.
The plan was to wear a specially engineered suit, coated in pig’s blood, to provoke the anaconda into swallowing him whole. The suit was made of carbon fiber, fitted with cameras, a microphone, and an oxygen supply. If things went wrong, his team would pull him out.
Spoiler: things did go wrong.
How It Went Down
As Rosolie approached the anaconda on all fours, the snake took the bait. But instead of swallowing him outright, it did what anacondas do best — it started constricting.
Rosolie quickly realized he was in trouble. As the giant serpent tightened around his body, he said he could feel the bones in his arm flexing, fearing they would snap. When it began to latch onto his head, Rosolie called it off.
“Stand by, guys. I’m starting to feel like she’s consuming me… My face is down. I’m calling it. I need help,” he said, while pinned inside the snake’s coils.
Fortunately, the crew pulled him out before serious injury occurred.
Where Is He Now?
Despite nearly being crushed by an anaconda on national television, Paul Rosolie is alive, well, and still exploring the Amazon.
He continues to use shock value to draw attention to conservation — recently sharing images of a giant spider crawling across his face on Instagram. His passion for protecting ecosystems hasn’t wavered.
“We’re trying to get people to care about unf**king the planet,” he says.
Say what you will about his methods — but Rosolie’s message is clear: the rainforest matters, and sometimes it takes something wild to make the world listen.
