Bartolomeo Bove and his pal Juca Ygarape were diving in the Formoso River in Brazil back in July when they encountered the Green Anaconda, the largest living snake in the world.

In the clip, the snake – which measured a whopping seven metres (23ft) – can be seen lying on the riverbed. The footage then cuts to the creature facing the camera front-on and flicking out its tongue.

The 90kg snake then decides to clear off and slithers away from Bove, who is holding the camera – rather than swim off screaming like many of us would (don’t lie to me, you would) he follows the snake, seemingly determined to get a better shot of the giant reptile.

After all that, Bove’s determination paid off and he managed to get some absolutely incredible footage of the creature.

The photographer explained that his clip shows how the huge snakes are misunderstood and that they’re not the aggressive animals people may think they are – still, rather him than me.

Bove said: “The rivers and the bodies of water around the Bonito area are the only places in South America where anacondas can be found in crystal clear waters, and therefore diving with them is possible.

“As shown in the footage the anaconda swims calm and peaceful, completely indifferent to our presence – sometimes she comes closer, curious about my camera [and] licking the lens.

“The behaviour of the anaconda debunks the myth that it is an aggressive and violent creature that can endanger people’s lives.”