Anaconda Babymomma

After the tiger attack and ensuing chaos at the San Francisco Zoo, here's some good zoo news, for a change. The New England Aquarium is welcoming many new arrivals. An anaconda celebrated the new year by giving birth to 14 little ones.

WBZ explains how anaconda-birthing works:

The pregnant 16-foot anaconda finished giving birth to all 14 babies around 5 a.m. Tuesday. While most snakes lay external eggs, anaconda eggs remains inside the mother's body until they are about to hatch and then the young are born live, in a process called ovoviviparity, aquarium officials said.

Unlike mammals, ovoviviparous young gain their nourishment from the egg yolk instead of the mother's umbilical cord.

As Bostonist noted in October, it took a lot of work to get the anacondas in a baby-making frame of mind. Apparently extra rain and food did the trick.

Image of one of the New England Aquarium anacondas from the AP/Elise Amendola.