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The American naturalist who filmed himself getting eaten by an anaconda for a highly-anticipated television event has spoken out about what inspired him to take part in the risky stunt. 

This past summer, Rosolie donned a special suit to let a 25-foot 400-pound snake eat him in a dangerous performance set to air on Discovery Channel this Sunday. Overall, Rosolie was so confident in the suit's design that he was more worried about the snake's safety than his own. 

'I didn't want to stress [the snake] out too much. I wanted to make sure that the suit was smooth and wasn't going to hurt the snake,' Rosolie said. ' I really wasn't scared. We tested this suit and worked on this with experts so we knew I was going to be safe.' 

Amid a backlash from animal rights activists who believe the anaconda was tortured by being forced to eat Rosolie, a man much bigger than its usual prey, Rosolie has responded to say the snake was unharmed and that the experiment was designed to raise money to save the animal's habitat. 

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Eaten alive: Paul Rosolie filmed himself getting eaten by an anaconda last summer, and the stunt will air this Sunday on Discovery Channel. Rosolie pictured above with an anaconda in promotional pictures for the event. None of the following pictures show the anaconda used in the stunt 

Good cause: Rosolie says he participated in the risky act in order to raise awareness of the anaconda's habitat, which is being encroached on by gold mining

'I wanted to do something that would absolutely shock people,' Rosolie told the New York Post. 'Environmentalists, we love to preach to the choir. What I'm trying to do with this is bring in a bunch of people that wouldn't necessarily know what's going on in the Amazon.' 

Fundrasier: The special to air Sunday will reportedly advertise a fundraiser to save the snake's habitat 

'For the type of attention that this is getting and for the type of emergency that's going on down there — desperate times, desperate measures.' 

'Once they see the show, these are people who are going to be supporters' he said. 'It's a cool little dissonance there — they're all coming out against me, but I'm the guy that's been down there in the jungle trying to protect these things.' 

Rosolie, a New Jersey native who first visited the Amazon at age 18, spent 60 days hiking through the rain forest in Peru with a team of about a dozen people searching for the right anaconda to take part in the stunt.

In the process, the team also started the first scientific study of anacondas in the wild, taking down the weight, length and sex of each snake they came across. They also took samples of their skin to test for mercury, a by-product of the gold-mining industry which is encroaching on the creature's habitat. The special on Sunday will be promoting a fundraiser to raise money to save the snake's habitat. 

The naturalist and his crew had nearly run out of the time allotted by the Discovery Channel when they finally tracked down a female green anaconda that Rosolie first spotted in 2008. 

He says it took 12 people fighting in water above their heads to catch the 25-foot 400-500 pound anaconda, adding that herpetologists were on site to make sure the snake was in good health throughout its short captivity. 

Armor: In order to survive being eaten by the snake, Rosolie wore a custom-designed suit that protected him from the snake's strong grasp and digestive acids. It also packed cameras, communication devices and enough air to last him three hours

Filmmaker wears snake-proof suit to be EATEN ALIVE by anaconda

Not an easy job: It took a team of 12 to capture the snake used in the stunt. Above, Rosolie pictured on the hunt in the Amazon 

From there, Rosolie put on a special suit made of carbon fiber designed to protect against both the snake's deadly grip and digestive acids.

The suit also packed a three-hour supply of oxygen, communication devices and several cameras. Before going through with the effort, Rosolie also swallowed a pill that transmitted his vitals to his team. 

In order to attract the snakes's attention, Rosolie doused himself in pigs blood and imitated movements of the anaconda's typical prey. The snakes usually hunt wild pigs, deer, capybaras and caiman.

Rosolie says 'it didn't take long' for the anaconda to fall for the maneuver, but wouldn't elaborate on what actually happened once the snake tried to swallow him whole. 

'Experiencing that kind of power was worth everything, because it was just amazing,' he said. 

'Eaten Alive' airs Sunday on Discovery Channel at 9pm ET.  

Moment an anaconda regurgitates a COW in a jungle river