A naturalist who has outraged animal rights activists after donning a "snake-proof" suit in order to be eaten alive by an anaconda for a television show has welcomed the social media backlash against his stunt.
Paul Rosolie, 26, who describes himself as "Indiana Jones with a green twist" filmed himselfin the Amazon being swallowed by the 10m green anaconda, the world's largest snake species.
The US film-maker is said to have doused himself in pigs' blood to attract the snake, which usually eats wild pigs or deer. His self-designed suit protected him against the snake's digestive juices and had a cord so his colleagues could pull him back out.
But news of the stunt, which will be aired next month on the Discovery Channel in a programme called Eaten Alive, provoked anger from animal rights activists and social media users. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) led the criticism, accusing Rosolie of "tormenting the animal".
In a statement, Peta said: "If the description is accurate, the snake was tormented and suffered for the sake of ratings - as animals usually do when they're used for entertainment. Anacondas go days without eating and expend the energy needed to do so selectively. Making this snake use up energy by swallowing this fool and then possibly regurgitating him would have left the poor animal exhausted and deprived of the energy that he or she needs.
"Shame on this pseudo 'wildlife expert' for tormenting this animal, and shame on the Discovery Channel for giving him the incentive."
Peta said it had not heard back after asking the Discovery Channel to pull the show, whether it was a hoax or not.
"Using an animal for entertainment is wrong. @PaulRosolie should be studied and tortured like the animals he makes money off of," was a typical comment.
But Mr Rosolie responded by saying he would "never hurt a living thing" and welcomed the fact that people cared about snakes.
"Throughout history snakes have been one of the most feared and misunderstood animals on earth," he said on Twitter.
"In the last 48 hours thousands of people from all over the globe have spoken out and petitioned in defence of a snake. It is a passionate and sweeping response that is encouraging to watch."
