Adventurer gets up close and personal with giant anaconda

A BRAVE adventurer managed to come just feet from a massive eight metre Anaconda

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Myth: Karina felt comfortable around the anaconda and says they are not man eaters

Photographer Alexandre Socci snapped the incredible images of diver Karina Oliani in Bonito, Brazil while filming her television series - Wild Ocean With Karina Oliani.

It took Karina four days to find the giant predator that she estimates weighed between 300 and 400kg (63 stone).

The 33-year-old said: “At first I was terrified by its size - I saw a huge head but could not see the end of its body.

Hidden creature: Anacondas hide well and are rarely seen outside of the water

“It has always been a dream of mine to find an anaconda and when I got very close to it I felt very lucky.

“The anaconda was one of the biggest ones ever filmed underwater.”

Karina has been diving since she was a child, became a certified open water scuba diver at 12, and has been a professional diver since 2002.

Non-venomous: The snakes constrict their prey to kill it

Giant snake: This particular anaconda was over eight metres long

She has swam cage-less with Great White sharks and has climbed some of the world’s tallest mountains, including Mount Everest.

Her most recent adventures have been filmed as part of her new television series that follows her to the depths of the ocean encountering amazing sea creatures.

This giant anaconda was spotted in an underwater cave system that lies underneath the crystal clear waters in Bonito.

Heavy snake: Karina estimates that this anaconda weighed around 60 stone

Anacondas are one of the largest snakes in the world and spend most of their time underwater making them very hard to find.

“Because of is size and knowing how agile they are underwater, this one could have killed me easily,” Karina added.

“They kill their prey by constricting them and the more you try to escape the more they try to squeeze you.

Making waves: Karina was filmed and photographed with the snake as part of her new show Wild Ocean with Karina Oliani

“I had my friend bring a good knife for safety if we needed it - but that was the only precaution we took."

But once Karina spent a few minutes close to the anaconda she realised that the giant snake was not looking to hurt her.

“I knew it was a female because of its size - females are much bigger," added Karina.

Touching distance: Karina says she felt comfortable with the animal after around 20 minutes

“We were definitely not on her menu but it is a wild predator and you should not approach it in a way that makes it feel threatened.

“At first she was very shy and after about 20 minutes she got progressively less worried with my presence and we both ended the dive comfortable around each other.