Despite his urban upbringing, Rosolie has always been drawn to nature and has dedicated nearly two decades to collaborating with Indigenous communities in the Amazon rainforest to conserve ‘the last truly wild places on the planet’.
In an interview with LADbible, Rosolie shared that he spends the majority of the year outdoors, living in the remote areas of the Amazon rainforest.
“The truth is, we grew up as a species in nature and so when you return to nature, you tend to feel better,” he stated.
The curiosity surrounding this question originates from a 2014 viral episode of the Discovery Channel series Eaten Alive. Rosolie’s brush with being eaten wasn’t due to misfortune; rather, it was a deliberate choice.
In the show, Rosolie participated in an experiment to be consumed by a 14-foot anaconda, a snake capable of overpowering creatures much larger than humans.
Green anacondas are the heaviest snakes globally, with the largest recorded at 500 pounds, as noted by the Natural History Museum.
When questioned about feeling endangered or close to death during filming, Rosolie replied: “On TV, no, because it was with the Discovery Channel.”
He soon learned just how perilous his situation could become.
The show’s producers had an ambulance ready and equipped Rosolie with a ‘very well made’ suit for protection during the stunt. He then embarked on locating the right snake.
However, during the search, he encountered a particularly aggressive 14-foot anaconda and faced a harrowing ordeal.
“I did get wrapped with no suit, no protection,” he confessed.
Rosolie elaborated: “When you catch an anaconda you have to secure the head, so I had secured the head, and this thing’s head is big, it’s a huge reptile head with 200 teeth in it. They lock your wrists together first and then the next coil comes over your shoulder. So I actually almost had my shoulders touch.
“And I came inches away, moments away from having my ribcage explode. And JJ, my friend, saved my life.”
“They can take anything,” he added. “Every time you exhale, you never get that space back, you never take that breath in again. So you exhale and the snake squeezes, and then when you try to breathe in, there’s nothing. And so I couldn’t even call for help. It was terrifying.”
Attempting to be eaten by a snake is not a typical goal, but Rosolie explained that his aim was to ‘be eaten by an anaconda’ to draw attention to the Amazon rainforest and its inhabitants.
“Animals exist on Earth for their own reasons and we’re not the only species here. That’s a very important reality to understand,” he emphasized.
“Indigenous people are fighting with their lives to protect the Amazon rainforest, because they understand what everyone else is forgotten that without ecosystems, if you can’t breathe the air and drink the water, nothing else you’re interested in is going to happen.”
“That’s why I’m down here. That’s why I would do something as suicidal as even claimed to try and be eaten by an anaconda,” Rosolie concluded.
To support and learn more about Rosolie’s mission, visit www.junglekeepers.org.