Mayer was a guide in the Tiputini field station in Amazonian Ecuador ( where Sylvia wascaught ) and he had deep knowledge of theforest. Having worked with scientists foryears , he was aware of the importanceofac- curate information and how hard scientists pursuefacts . He reported seeing an anaconda with a head about 20centimeters (7 . 9inches ) long( as he showed me with hishands ) . He also said that coiled up on theriverbank , she was about 50centimeters (1 . 6 )tall . This head size corresponds with an anaconda a bit shyof7meters ( 23feet ) and9 .8inches )across . Coiled over itself , it would be close to the reportedheight . Not having seen it stretched out Mayer did not venture to guess itslength , but this is an internally consistent story that suggests he had seen a very large anacondaindeed.