--- title: Boa Constrictors Suffocation Prey: How These Snakes Attack description: Boa constrictors may actually stop blood flow by cutting off the flow of oxygen and blood through the body's circulatory system. canonical: https://time.com/3969783/boa-constrictors-prey/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-23T17:40:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:26.513Z article:section: Science og:title: The Surprising Way Boa Constrictors Really Kill Their Prey og:description: Boa constrictors may actually stop blood flow by cutting off the flow of oxygen and blood through the body's circulatory system. og:url: https://time.com/3969783/boa-constrictors-prey/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66afa8aa7212b5bf/69885c2be53abaceb84debc4/boa-constrictor.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2579 og:image:height: 1451 og:image:alt: boa constrictor og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Surprising Way Boa Constrictors Really Kill Their Prey twitter:description: Boa constrictors may actually stop blood flow by cutting off the flow of oxygen and blood through the body's circulatory system. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66afa8aa7212b5bf/69885c2be53abaceb84debc4/boa-constrictor.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Surprising Way Boa Constrictors Really Kill Their Prey > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=d05ea982-b5e8-4499-99cd-ed4c7a327091&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Wildfires, Beetles and Climate Change [Watch (HLS stream): Wildfires, Beetles and Climate Change](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/wYhUFMcF.m3u8) (4:46)  _Published 2009-09-14. In this Climate Central report, Dr. Susan Prichard explains how tree-killing bark beetles flourish in warmer temperatures, leading to severe wildfires_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 23, 2015 5:40 PM UTC  Jiboia - (Boa constrictor) Jiboia - (Boa constrictor) Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 23, 2015 5:40 PM UTC For decades, scientists thought that boa constrictors suffocated their victims to death by cutting off oxygen. Now, new [research](http://jeb.biologists.org/content/218/14/2279.abstract) suggests that the snake species may actually kill their prey primarily by cutting off the flow of blood through the body’s circulatory system. Researchers allowed boa constrictors to attack rats while measuring how the prey’s body responded, including taking blood pressure and heart rate measurements. The study, published in the _Journal of Experimental Biology,_ suggests that the snake’s grip cuts off circulation almost immediately. The lack of blood flow causes organs like the liver, brain and heart to stop functioning, causing death. These results don’t mean that prey doesn’t also suffocate, but the loss of blood flow throughout the body kills more quickly than the inability to breathe. “Rather than suffocation, circulatory arrest may be the most proximate cause of death during snake constriction,” the researchers wrote. Researchers performed the experiment on 24 lab rats that were given anesthesia prior to the test to reduce suffering. Scientists [told the BBC](http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/33637880) that the research could provide insight on how to treat human crush injuries. ## Transcript >> I find it amazing that such a small non- descript little beetle can reeks a tabic on forest systems. >> A research scientist at the University of Washington Dr. Susan Prichard studies the effects of disturbances like insect outbreaks and wildfires on forests. Over the last two decades, more trees in western forests are being killed by bark beetles and there have been more fires. But, is climate change to blame? >> Each one of these, yellow sap concentration is an actual site where a mountain pine beetle as board into the bark of the logical pine and then it will lay eggs and its larvae will actually feed on the cambium tissue, the living tissue of the tree. So here, each one of the centers is an example of the tree trying to pitch out the beetle. The actual sap of the tree has [ unk ] that are toxic to the beetles and then also they are physically pushed the beetle out of the tree. >> Wow. So this tree is literally just fighting for its life. >> It is fighting for its life. That's not an overstatement actually. So, I can tell that unfortunately for this particular tree, it's not winning the fight. >> Beetles thrive in warmer weather. Mild winters, earlier springs and longer summers mean more beetles. >> So there is a climate linked for mountain pine beetle for sure. And what we're noticing in Washington State even today that in the last 20 years with warmer climate, warmer [ unk ] climate, there has been an increased incidents of mountain pine beetle. >> A resident of the quaint town in Winthrop in Central Washington, Dr. Prichard also says, warmer temperatures across the Western US have made drought stressed trees more vulnerable to beetle attack. >> Now if you have a vigorous tree, it will have enough defenses to pitch out some beetles so the beetles will attack the more weakened trees and maybe kill them. In an outbreak there could be, you know, acres upon acres of host trees where that there would be weakened, maybe drought, stressed, dense trees for these beetles to build up enough of a population that then they could start spreading into both weakened trees and healthy trees. >> Scientists have already made a definitive connection between warming temperatures and increase fires in the west. The connection between beetles and fire is less understood but many scientists like Prichard believe the combination of beetles, warming and drying forest will pre- dispose Washington State Forests to more fire. This year, more than 800 wild fires ignited in Washington State well above the yearly average. Prichard says in an outbreak of bark beetles starting in the 1990's let accumulations of dead trees priming the forests for a big fire event, which is exactly what occurred in August 2006 when the so- called tripod complex fire swept through the Okanogan Wenatchee forest destroying 180 thousand acres and costing $ 80 million. >> I actually saw the initial big smoke flumes. And if you were to look across the valley floor, you would not have been able to see even the trees. >> For Prichard, large fire events have been part of the landscape for millennium, vital to the renewal of the forest. She's concern about the future with an increase frequency of hot, dry weather, beetle outbreak and big fires. >> It actually reset the stage. It is a very natural cycle in this ecosystem. However, we are also facing unprecedented changes and climate. Here's an example of a Douglas first seedling, and you can see that it, you know, smaller in stature, it's very shallowly rooted in the soil and it's vulnerable to drought so as the top soil dries. It might dry out and die. So if we have more high severity fire then it might mean that trees that ever existed here for hundreds of not thousands of years are not able to success or able to produce. >> But since understanding the effect of disturbances on forest is her passion and work, Dr. Prichard has no plans to leave Central Washington anytime soon. They choose to live in a fire prone landscape. I think that's an important thing for people to actually take in to consideration when they wanna live in the great outdoors. The great outdoors in the Inland west means fire in the summers. >> Prichard and other scientist say climate change is at the very least partly responsible. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3969783/boa-constrictors-prey/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3969783/boa-constrictors-prey/"},"headline":"The Surprising Way Boa Constrictors Really Kill Their Prey","datePublished":"2015-07-23T17:40:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:58:26.513Z","description":"It's not what we thought","url":"https://time.com/3969783/boa-constrictors-prey/","keywords":["animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66afa8aa7212b5bf/69885c2be53abaceb84debc4/boa-constrictor.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66afa8aa7212b5bf/69885c2be53abaceb84debc4/boa-constrictor.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"boa constrictor","caption":"boa constrictor","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3969783/boa-constrictors-prey/","name":"The Surprising Way Boa Constrictors Really Kill Their Prey"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Wildfires, Beetles and Climate Change","description":"In this Climate Central report, Dr. Susan Prichard explains how tree-killing bark beetles flourish in warmer temperatures, leading to severe wildfires","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/wYhUFMcF/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2009-09-14T03:15:02.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/wYhUFMcF.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3969783/boa-constrictors-prey/","duration":"PT4M46S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3969783/boa-constrictors-prey/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```