A dark shape in the water, the sounds of a sudden struggle and an empty space where a human once swam. It sounds like a shark attack, but could some of these fresh-water disappearances be the work of giant catfish?
Let's take a look at...
- Kali River Attacks: Could a goonch be behind a series of missing swimmers?
- European Cuisine: Meet the massive Wels catfish...
- Ambushed in the Amazon: Or the fearsome piraiba
- The Case for Killer Catfish: Could a catfish realistically eat a human?
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| Well, it looks friendly... (Milos Prelevic) |
Kali River Attacks: The Goonch
The Kali River flows along the border of India and Nepal, eventually joining the Ghaghara and finally the Ganges. It supplies water, fish and even electricity to the region... and it's also used to dispose of cremated human remains.
In 1988, seventeen year old Dil Bahadur was dragged beneath the surface of Kali River in front of several eyewitnesses - no remains were found, even after an extensive search. Mere months later, a second boy was dragged beneath the surface as his helpless father looked on. In 2007, another attack claimed the life of an eighteen year old Nepalese man. Witnesses described his assailant as something like a mud-colored elongated pig.
Biologist and angler Jeremy Wade decided to put his skills to the test hunting this mysterious river monster. Working off a description from the 2007 attack, he decided that the culprit was probably a mature goonch catfish that had been scavenging partially intact remains from the funeral pyres.
The goonch (Bagarius yarrelli) can grow to over six feet in length and specimens have been found that were nearly 300 pounds in weight. It's been called the "giant devil catfish" and in Chhattisgarh region of Central India, the "Shark of the Bastar."
Wade was able to eventually lure and catch a monstrous goonch after setting up a fake funeral pyre. With eerily smooth skin, the body of the mud-colored creature actually did resemble an elongated pig. It also had a big mouth, filled with sharp, backwards facing teeth.
It's practically impossible to prove a goonch was behind the Kali River attacks, but the size and power of the fish means that it could have overpowered a human. Crocodiles do live near the Kali River, but witnesses didn't report any tell-tale death roll or scaly skin. A bull shark is another possibility (they can spend large amounts of time in fresh water and are known to attack humans) but no witnesses reported seeing a dorsal fin near the attacks.
The simple fact that a massive goonch turned up after a fake funeral pyre suggests that it might have been supplementing its diet with partially cremated human remains. From there, it's only a short swim to attacking an isolated and vulnerable human.
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| Goonch lurk in the Kali River (Anonymous) |
European Cuisine: Wels Catfish
The Wels catfish (Silurus glanis) is a mighty animal that can be found anywhere between the rivers of Germany to the lakes of central Asia.
The biggest specimens seem to come from the River Po in Italy, including monsters reaching over nine foot in length. There's even anecdotal evidence from the 19th century that the beasts could reach around five meters in length - though that could just be "the one that got away."
The Wels is an opportunistically voracious predator and scavenger. It's as happy to lunge out of the water to grab a bird as it is to take advantage of river-bottom carrion or eat the local fish.
The fish also seems to have a knack for becoming an invasive species. Big Wels catfish can be found happily growing in the abandoned cooling pools of Chernobyl, though their size is likely due to the lack of predators and fishing rather than any effect of the radiation.
One thing we do know is that Wels catfish have attacked humans. In 2009, an Austrian man attempted to help land a Wels but was forced to give up as the big fish struggled. When he attempted to swim back to the boat, the Wels bit into his leg and dragged him under. Fortunately the fish was more interested in escape than revenge - it fled as soon as the line broke, though it did leave a nasty wound on the would-be angler!
Nineteenth century naturalist Alfred Brehm also wrote about the Wels, describing several historical accounts of the big fish swallowing children. He also relayed the tale of a Romanian who was partially swallowed while bathing in the Danube - the unfortunate swimmer drowned, but the Wels choked on him in turn!
Now, second hand accounts from centuries ago are not great sources, but the Wels catfish is massive, hungry and has a track record of aggression towards humans. There's also no crocodiles to take the blame in Europe!
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| Wels catfish can be found in the Danube (Leonhard Niederwimmer) |
Ambushed in the Amazon: The Piraiba
Piraiba catfish (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum) make their home in the Amazon river, where they can grow to over 300 pounds... or possibly more.
Theodore Roosevelt wrote about the fish based on his travels in the Amazon, including how his expedition had eaten a catfish that contained the remains of a monkey. He also passed on a tale of an open-mouthed piraiba lunging for two fishermen in their boat, claiming that the local feared the catfish more than large caiman.
In 1981 the riverboat Sobral Santos II capsized after slamming into an unlit dock, tipping five-hundred people into the Amazon. The disaster happened near a fish processing plant that dumped guts into the river... which may explain why the passengers were attacked by something beneath the chummed water. The resulting death toll was massive for a boat that sunk in a harbor - around three hundred people are thought to have lost their lives.
It's quite possible piraba were amongst the attacking fish. Used to finding free food dumped by the factory, the larger examples are easily big enough to drag a human into the depths.
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| Piraiba catfish swim the Amazon (Ivars Utināns) |
The Case for Killer Catfish
While we don't have any "confirmed" cases of humans being eaten by a catfish, there is a decent amount of anecdotal evidence to support the idea. Looking at it as though it was a crime, did they have...
- Means: These catfish can get big (bigger than most humans) and are in their element. It's not hard to see how they could win a fight against a human
- Motive: Big fish have big appetites - we would make a great meal, especially if the fish has previously eaten human remains
- Opportunity: Humans (especially isolated or struggling ones) in catfish-infested waters would be easily accessible prey
That wouldn't be enough to convict in a court of law, but perhaps people entering catfish infested waters should be wary... lest the fisherman become the fish!
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