Via Mirror UK
Wildlife expert Paul Rosolie has admitted that promotion for his TV show Eaten Alive- in which he attempts to be swallowed by a giant anaconda - is 'misleading' to viewers.
The daredevil 30-year-old took part in the stunt as part of a television programme to raise awareness of the snake's habitat, and promotional material ahead of the airing of the show suggested he would be 'eaten alive' by an anaconda.
Many viewers took this to mean that he would be literally swallowed by the snake, but after the show aired in the US , it became apparent that Rosolie - who was wearing a protective suit - merely had part of his arm in the mouth of the snake.
Crew were then called in to prise the snake off of the show's star and the experiment was called off.
Some viewers complained about the Discovery Channel's promotion of the show, claiming that they had been left short-changed.
Paul Rosolie fails to get 'Eaten Alive' by an anaconda on Discovery channel special
In a Facebook Q&A hosted by the Discovery Channel, Paul Rosolie told viewers: "I agree that the hype around the show was misleading. People seemed to assume that I already had gotten eaten.
"They seemed to forget that this was an attempt at 'entering the belly of the beast' not a promised outcome."
The wildlife expert then admitted that due to the size of the anaconda it was very unlikely he could have been swallowed by the Amazonian beast anyway.
"The anaconda we used was on the smaller side - and the suit made me even bigger than I would be normally.
"We tried as hard as we could. It was an honest attempt. The point was to show how awesome and important the Amazon is."
But some viewers were left so angered by the show that they lampooned it with their own attempts at being eaten alive.
"This creature's habitat is disappearing, their habitat is being burned," said Rosolie in the Q&A. "I was trying to show people that habitat, and that creature, and ask them to protect both."
Despite the daredevils claims that he was trying to draw attention to the plight of anacondas in threatened areas of the Amazon rainforest, PETA slammed the show as a 'shameful stunt' in a statement released on Monday:
"Study after study has shown that entertainment features such as this one that show humans interfering with and handling wild animals are detrimental to species conservation.
"Rosolie knows this. Discovery knows this. Yet they chose to contrive and air this shameful stunt for ratings anyway."
In a Facebook Q&A hosted by the Discovery Channel, Paul Rosolie told viewers: "I agree that the hype around the show was misleading. People seemed to assume that I already had gotten eaten.
"They seemed to forget that this was an attempt at 'entering the belly of the beast' not a promised outcome."
The wildlife expert then admitted that due to the size of the anaconda it was very unlikely he could have been swallowed by the Amazonian beast anyway.
"The anaconda we used was on the smaller side - and the suit made me even bigger than I would be normally.
"We tried as hard as we could. It was an honest attempt. The point was to show how awesome and important the Amazon is."
But some viewers were left so angered by the show that they lampooned it with their own attempts at being eaten alive.
"This creature's habitat is disappearing, their habitat is being burned," said Rosolie in the Q&A. "I was trying to show people that habitat, and that creature, and ask them to protect both."
Despite the daredevils claims that he was trying to draw attention to the plight of anacondas in threatened areas of the Amazon rainforest, PETA slammed the show as a 'shameful stunt' in a statement released on Monday:
"Study after study has shown that entertainment features such as this one that show humans interfering with and handling wild animals are detrimental to species conservation.
"Rosolie knows this. Discovery knows this. Yet they chose to contrive and air this shameful stunt for ratings anyway."
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