Author and conservationist Paul Rosolie announced earlier this year that he planned on wrestling and being eaten alive by a 25-foot anaconda, and audiences got to see the epic confrontation take place on Discovery’s Eaten Alive on Sunday night. The special drew a total of 4.1  million viewers, the most viewers for a nature documentary on Discovery in four years.

Soon after Rosolie’s controversial initial announcement, animal rights activists tried to protest the special, concerned for the well-being of the anaconda. However, Rosolie countered that the show would actually protect millions of creatures whose habitat is being destroyed by deforestation and that the extreme stunt would “grab people by the eyeballs” and force them to pay attention to what was actually a conservation documentary.

Rosolie was correct in thinking that audiences would tune in to the two-hour event to see what would happen when he and the massive snake finally faced off, but upon discovering that the award-winning wildlife filmmaker called in for assistance in escaping the anaconda’s clutches when it only had his head in its mouth, viewers immediately expressed their outrage on social media. Discovery was forced to defend the special, stating that “the safety of Paul, as well as the anaconda, was always our number one priority.”

“Paul created this challenge to get maximum attention for one of the most beautiful and threatened parts of the world, the Amazon Rainforest and its wildlife. He went to great lengths to send this message and it was his absolute intention to be eaten alive. Ultimately, after the snake constricted Paul for over an hour and went for his head, the experiment had to be called when it became clear that Paul would be very seriously injured if he continued on.”

Even though the stunt was called off mere minutes after it began, animal rights group PETA expressed their outrage over the treatment of the anaconda.

“Shame on this pseudo ‘wildlife expert’ for tormenting this animal and shame on the Discovery Channel for giving him the incentive to do so.”

“The snake is alive and well and remains healthy,” countered Rosolie. “She was examined by a vet throughout the project, including directly after my very close encounter with her. I would not have done this if there were any real chance of hurting or stressing out the snake.”