According to a report in the Telegraph The goonch . a type of catfish found in India, is said to have developed a taste for human flesh after feeding on corpses thrown into the river after funeral ceremonies.
Locals rumours have held for years that a mysterious monster lurks in the water. But they think it has moved on from scavenging to targeting live bathers who swim in the Great Kali, which flows along the India-Nepal border. Biologist Jeremy Wade, who is investigating the story for a TV documentary, said: "The locals have told me of a theory that this monster has grown extra large on a diet of partially burnt corpses. It has perhaps got this taste for flesh by feasting on remains of funeral pyres. There will be a few freak individuals that grow bigger than the other ones and if you throw in extra food, they will grow even bigger."
Mr Wade caught one goonch, among the largest freshwater fish in the world, which weighed 161lb and was nearly 6ft long – a world record for the species. In 2007 an 18-year-old Nepali disappeared in the river, dragged down by something described as like an "elongated pig".However, the first live victim of a goonch was thought to have been a 17-year-old Nepalese boy in April 1988.Witnesses said he was cooling himself in the river when something suddenly pulled him below the surface. Three months later a young boy was dragged underwater in front of his horrified father.
I'm not sure if this true or not but I'll be watching the documentary when it's on tv later in the month
18 comments:
True or not it is an interesting story and that is one scary photo!!!
Are they by any chance related to the Loch Ness Goonch ?
Perhaps the mystery is solved - Nessie is a goonch !
lord have mercy!!! at least piranha are small.
Hmmm
Where are those useless Greens. Save
the humans!!!!!
Sounds like a nice place for bankers and gvt ministers to holiday....
I wonder why this monster is called CATfish ?? It's an insult to each cat, lol !
First there were crocodiles and alligators and pyranhas now goonch. Enough to keep one safely on dry land. And great white sharks and ....
It is a scary beastie Cherie!
and Lake Champlain too Petrus!
I shudder to think what would happen if you got into a shoal of them Betmo.
If you were a green would you dip your toe in that water Beakerkin!
And z list celebrities. While I quite like strictly come dancing, I would like to see Strictly Go Swimming in those rivers! Deb Acle
THe cat comes from the apendages on the side of the fish by its mouth - hence ca fish
JMB I am sur-psied you are scared by such a creature, you coming form a land where the only harmless creatures are some of the sheep!
i love this post. i must make it a point to come late for photohunters so i have a bonus read :) for overseas readers like us, this post is relevant but Irish govt plan to beat recession is more of a localized content.
it is a little amazing how a Malaysian like me can enjoy a blog like yrs when we r so different.
Jams
Call the folks at the SWP apparently there are catfish in China
that eat humans as well. The folks at
the SWP will proclaim these catfish some revolutionary front.
Google human eating catfish and you will see another case from China.
Oh yuck. Don't tell me that. I have not even gotten over the movie JAws which I saw in the 70's...
Haaa
Thanks Bengbeng. Glad you find the Poor Mouth interesting.
I'll have to look that up Beakerkin
Haha Sabine!
False alarm that was a whale shark in
the Chinese photos.
The story was too good to be true.
Ah well good while it lasted!
Bugger!! I was fooled til I read that last comment.
SHames. I do want to see the documentary though
I wouldn't want to run into him in dark murky waters...
Or in crystal clear waters either!
Post a Comment