RIVER MONSTERS

Recently it was noted that a few swimmers were attacked in Berlin's Schlachtensee lake ,which is a place where people choose to avoid summer heat by a dip,the most likely ,primary suspect was giant wels catfish which are found in dozens or more in the lake,and tend to be particularly defensive in the breeding season ,a german woman described to the reporter that she was swimming around with his frend,when her fren asked weather she had felt something in the water coming close to them ,then she felt a strong force grabbed her by the leg ,she quickly moved out of the water and discovered that it started bleeding ,she has a crescent- shaped mark which is 17 cm long ,on her leg now.possibly ,the fish tried to defend its territory when the swimmers unknowingly ventured into its territory.

these wels catfish can be up to 300 pounds and 10 feets ,and their sizes are growing each year ,it's characterised by having slimy,scaleless body which enables it to be highly sensitive with the surroundings and also provides better camouflage ,it has an remarkably wide mouth with rows and rows of small,razor-sharp teeth ,and why is's called catfish ?●_● it has two sets of barbles ,whiskers-like receptors located on the upper and lower jaws ─an adaption enables to detect water movement and disturbance caused by other fishes ,haha and they are surprisingly curious with what‘s going on in their area ,i was watching the animal planet channel and the man on boat,disturbed the water by splashing ,a water camera had been attached to the device to observe the fish its natural environment,then a figure moved out of the shadow and come up to investigate,and there’s a close-up photo of the fish attacking the camera.

all these make it plausible to think that catfish is capable of swallowing a man ,in water ,it needs to use only 30% of force to pull down a full grown man , Tales of man-eating wels catfish date back as far as the 15th century,there are stories and myths about human remnants were found in the stomachs of these fish ,but most experts suspect the victims were already drowned before being swallowed


●Jeremy Wade holds a wels catfish weighing 163 pounds and measuring 7 feet, 4 inches from head to tail. The largest wels can reach up to 10 feet and weigh over 330 pounds


●Wels catfish are landed by gripping the lower jaw, preferably with two hands. Sometimes a wels will bite down hard or even attempt to roll like a crocodile. The wels is also known to bite when released, lashing out at the nearest body part.


Top10 River Monsters
1)GIANT STINGRAY

Name: Giant freshwater stingray (Himantura chaophraya). Maximum Size: 197 inches (500 centimeters), 1,323 pounds (600 kilograms), body diameter 95 inches (240 centimeters). Habitat: Mekong River Basin, Southeast Asia.

2.GOONCH CATFISH

Jeremy Wade with a 161-pound goonch catfish. This catch measured 5 feet, 7 inches from head to tail with a 41-inch girth and 44-inch "wingspan


The goonch catfish has been accused of a number of attacks on humans, including the death of an 18-year-old Nepali in 2008, who was dragged down into the river by what witnesses described as an "elongated pig." Two similar attacks were reported in 1988.

3.GOLIATH TIGERFISH (DEMONFISH)

The goliath tigerfish has sharp, triangular teeth that interlock like scissors. These can easily take lumps out of other fish, even crocodiles, and there are well-documented stories of these fish taking chunks of flesh out of people.

4.ALLIGATOR GAR

Jeremy Wade holds a nearly 7-feet-long, 111-pound alligator gar with Mark Spitzer


.The front part of the alligator gar's mouth acts like a shopping cart, a place to store food. This makes it tricky to land one.

4.GIANT SNAKEHEAD

Jeremy Wade holds a giant snakehead, a native of Southeast Asia and some areas of India. The most aggressive species of snakehead, it is capable of growing to over 3 feet in length and weighing over 40 pounds.


5)ARAIPAMA

Jeremy Wade with a 150-pound arapaima.



6)VUNDU CATFISH

The Vundu catfish is one of the longest freshwater fish in southern Africa, if not the heaviest. Like a snakehead, it can survive for long periods of time out of water.


The African lungfish's "lung" contains many thin-walled blood vessels that absorbed oxygen gulped into the lung when the fish comes to the surface to breathe. Adults have reduced gills and mainly take in oxygen through breathing.

7)WHITE STURGEON

Jeremy Wade with a white sturgeon, the largest and most primitive freshwater fish in North America. The biggest white sturgeon on record stretched more than 20 feet in length and weighed almost 1,800 pounds


the white sturgeon has been around for at least 100 millions years,they are very long-lived fish,the oldest white sturgeon on record lived up to 104 years old

8)piranha

Jeremy Wade reveals the red-bellied piranha's legendary, razor-sharp teeth. The piranha's triangular teeth interlock to cut through flesh like scissors. In spite of its small size, the red-bellied piranha is the world's deadliest freshwater fish.