Catfish killed a man. Catfish is the largest freshwater predator

Catfish ( Silurus) is the largest predatory fish that lives in freshwater lakes and rivers. It belongs to the class of ray-finned fish, the catfish order, the catfish family.

Catfish fish - description, characteristics and photos

The catfish fish has a long, flattened and rather powerful body, which is devoid of scales and covered with a layer of mucus, which provides gliding and maneuverability of the fish in the water. The wide head of the catfish usually has a flattened shape. On it are small, slightly blind eyes of a catfish. The wide mouth of the fish is "armed" with small, but present in in large numbers teeth. Almost all catfish have one feature: on the jaws of this predatory fish long mustaches are located. Catfish's whiskers are the most important tactile organ with which the fish finds food. Depending on the variety, which scientists number about 500, appearance catfish, its color and size can vary significantly.

How long does a catfish live?

The life expectancy of a catfish, which lives in natural and environmentally acceptable conditions, reaches 30, 50, or even 60 years. There are data from ichthyologists who have recorded individuals that have reached the age of 75 years.

What does catfish eat?

Catfish in nature prefers to lead a bottom lifestyle, lying in pits with a large accumulation of silt deposits. In nutrition, he is unpretentious: catfish happily eats plant remains, small fish, larvae, shells, crayfish or birds accidentally caught in a pond, and other living creatures. Catfish also feed on carrion. Often he "hunts" prey near old and forgotten fishing nets. A large hungry catfish can even eat or that accidentally entered the water.

Where does catfish live?

Catfish is quite widespread in the water bodies of Europe and Asia, while living in rivers flowing into the seas, it often swims into their salty waters. Unfortunately, in such conditions, only one species of catfish, the channel catfish, can exist for a long time, the rest of the individuals from this family are not adapted to such a “salty” life.

Types of catfish - photos and names

There are many interesting and unusual representatives in the catfish family.

Common catfish (European) ( Silurus glanis)

can reach a length of up to 5 meters and weigh up to 400 kg. It lives in the rivers and lakes of Europe and Russia. Cases of attacks on people are described.

American catfish (pygmy catfish) ( Ameiurus nebulosus)

lives in the waters of South America. The length of the American catfish does not exceed a meter, weight - 7-10 kg. The mouth of this variety is surprisingly arranged: the teeth are arranged in several rows, and each row differs in their size - from smaller to larger. This feature allows the American catfish to capture prey, as if with a steel vice.

Malapterurus electricus)

lives in the waters of Africa and the rivers of the Arab countries. Its ability to generate powerful charges of electricity helps to successfully hunt even large prey. There is evidence that electric catfish killed animals that accidentally wandered into a pond for a drink with a discharge of current.

Numerous aquarium varieties are widely known among catfish: tarakatum, platidoras, glass catfish, cuckoo catfish, shifter catfish and others. And their variety of colors is simply amazing:

Glass Indian catfish

Old story, right? The catfish dragged the man and ate him. Let's find out what you hear about it on the Internet...

Catfish is the largest freshwater predator. Everyone knows this giant - an inhabitant of pools and cluttered river pits, who, according to stories and books, and who himself was lucky to catch, if not a record, but still a catfish! And sometimes this fish weighs up to 300 kg! Such giants, scientists believe, are usually 80-100 years old! True, I don’t hear anything that any of the anglers are so lucky. More often come across catfish weighing 10-20 kg.

Of course, anglers who specialize in catching these amazing fish- catfish, still catch very large specimens - up to 100 kg. By their own outward signs catfish is easily distinguished from all other fish. He has a huge blunt head, a large mouth, from which two large mustaches and four mustaches extend on his chin. Whiskers are a kind of tentacles, with the help of which the catfish finds food even in the dark. And what is surprising - with such large dimensions - very small eyes. The tail is long and looks a little like a fish. The color of the body is variable - almost black on top, while the belly is usually off-white. His body is naked, without scales.

Catfish food is the most diverse, it feeds on mollusks, worms, crayfish and other living creatures. The main one is the fish, which he attacks from shelters and ambushes, disguising himself as the background of the bottom (he is incapable of long-term pursuit of his victims). If a waterfowl or animal gapes, then they can become its victim. Catfish are especially willing to eat green frogs. On the use of this predilection, his catching "on a kwok" is based. Like the pike, the catfish is an excellent orderly of water bodies: it eats weakened, dead fish, drowned animals, etc. Puberty of catfish occurs at the 3rd - 4th year of life, spawning begins with the water warming up to 20 degrees. Usually spawning is a pair. The female spawns in shallow areas with a weak current or without it at all into a depression dug in the ground. Males guard the eggs until the fry appear. After spawning, catfish migrate to summer camps and begin to feed actively. Post-spawning zhor is the most active. It continues almost until the middle of summer, then gradually decreases, and at the first night frosts, the catfish completely stops feeding.

Catfish is a homebody. Usually he spends his whole life in one hole, unless extraordinary circumstances force him to look for another place. The catfish leads a solitary life, only some accumulation can be observed in the wintering pits. The first 2 - 3 years, young catfish also prefer to stay together, this is usually observed in places rich in food. Catfish lead predominantly night image life, and if they move, then more at dawn. On hot days, they may come to the surface of the water. They are very sensitive to cold. But catfish are more mobile.

Many catfish anglers claim that catfish really like the smell of singed feathers, wool and felt. Used as bait and live fish: crucian carp, tench, bream, squint, gobies, ram, etc. It is almost impossible to catch a catfish on a weak tackle and a thin line, because it will break a thin line or a weak cord without special effort. Catfish is a very strong fish. If he got on the hook to the fisherman, then it is not so easy to pull him out.

The body structure of the catfish is adapted for bottom life; it rarely rises to the upper layers of the water. Its head is large, wide and flattened, its mouth is huge with numerous small teeth. There are two long antennae on the upper jaw, and four short ones on the lower jaw. On the back, an incongruously small fin, while the anal, wide and long, connects to the tail, which makes the catfish very powerful. The skin is bare, without scales. The eyes are small and very "evil".

Catfish are predominantly nocturnal predators. During the day, he stays in his parking lot, under a shelter, where he lies in wait for his prey, at night, in search of food, he also goes out to shallow places, walking around water thickets, where he feasts on gaping frogs.

Catfish specimens weighing about 50 kg can be caught in our rivers.

Best time catfish fishing - July-August. It is best caught shortly after spawning, which usually takes place at a temperature of 18-22 °C. The best fishing time during the day should be considered from dusk to dawn. But even during the day, the possibility of his grips is not ruled out if the bait passes close to his mouth.

Nozzle for catching catfish - spinners in proportion to the size of the intended prey and fresh fish planted on a snatch point. Given the energetic and strong resistance of the catfish when caught, it is necessary to set hooks of the appropriate size and strength.

Catfish is not just a fish. The waterman rides on it, and the catfish carries the drowned for him. That's why he's called "damn horse". How many fishing stories and "horror stories" about catfish!

They say that huge catfish drowned dogs and calves and attacked people, especially children. There is a legend in Siberia about a catfish that drowned a bear swimming across the river.

In the journal "Science and Life" in the early 80s, a story was published by a collective farmer, whom the catfish grabbed by the leg and the poor fellow beat the fish on the head with a sickle for a long time to free himself.

On July 16, 1982, in the Khopersky Reserve, in front of the huntsman, forester and researcher at the biological station, the catfish attacked a young deer and dragged it under water.

Now, in one of the lakes of the Dutch leisure park "Centerparcs", tourists are intimidated by fear, mixed with curiosity, by a catfish 2.3 meters long.

The main diet of Big Mommy - that's what the catfish was called locals- make up ducks who, through negligence, choose his lake for recreation. According to park staff, the underwater monster eats two or three birds a day. In addition, he already has several large and small dogs on his account.

The Dutch catfish has already scared away all the local ducks that have moved to other lakes, away from its mouth. However, Big Mom doesn't have to starve, because a few random birds always fly to the lake, unaware that a monster is waiting for them in the still water.

According to Centerparcs biologist Jean Hanks, Big Mom was able to grow to such a size due to the fact that the lake is unusually pure water, full of food around and very calm.

Catfish can reach 300 kg of weight and five meters in length, and there is evidence that a hundred years ago 400 kg monsters were caught in the rivers of Russia. Vladimir Yermolin, a senior researcher at the Saratov Regional Research Institute of River and Lake Fisheries, said in an interview with Saratovnews that he came across giants weighing 260-290 kilograms in the Volga and its tributaries.

According to Bram, the length of this fish can be up to 3 meters, and the weight is 220 kg, but the American zoologist David Weller in his book "Killer Fish" speaks of 6.3 meters and 500 kg!

Leonid Sabaneeva in his work "Life and catching freshwater fish" wrote that the jaw of a catfish caught in the lake was installed on Lake Issyk-Kul. It stood vertically in the form of an arch and an adult could freely, without bending, pass through it.

For example, in the Ukrainian Dnieper (where the catfish is considered the king fish), according to unconfirmed reports, a 288-kilogram catfish 4 meters long was caught. In the Dniester, they pulled out a catfish weighing 320 kilograms. And again, according to unconfirmed reports, in 1830 the largest catfish in the world was caught on the Oder. His weight was 400 kilograms.

IN South America in the rivers of the Amazon basin, the length of catfish reaches 3 meters. In India and Indonesia, 4-meter individuals are found.

The largest catfish in Europe was caught in Italy in March 2011. Its weight was equal to 114 kilograms, its length is exactly 2.5 meters. A fisherman named Robert Gody pulled the fish ashore for 50 minutes. And not just one, but with the help of several people. As a result, the catfish became the largest freshwater fish, which was caught in the waters of Europe. She also received the title of the largest catfish in the world, which she managed to catch.

On the day of fishing, Roberto Godi was hunting for bream, but he felt a bite and went into the river. After the catch, weighing 114 kilograms, was pulled out of the water, everyone was surprised. The fisherman weighed the catfish, took a picture with it and released it back into the river.

Now this title has passed to the giant shilb catfish, caught by the fishermen of Thailand in the Mekong River.

Its weight was 293 kilograms, and its length was 2.7 meters. The fish were weighed, measured, and photographed by Thai authorities.

Zoologists and ecologists fought for the legendary catfish - they wanted to take it under their supervision. However, the locals killed it and ate it with pleasure.

But are there still catfish cannibals?

Hungry catfish are pretty scary. There are known facts when fish pounced on rotten rags and even snatched linen from the hands of women who rinsed clothes in ponds. The catfish have the strength to capsize the boat, and if desired, they can break the fishing nets and take the fish with them.

Catfish is the largest river predator. Its weight can reach 230 kilograms with a length of 3 meters. However, fish can grow large sizes. For example, the American zoologist David Wheeler mentions in his book "Killer Fish" a catfish of 500 kilograms and 6.3 meters.

Catfish live in almost all large water bodies in Russia and the CIS countries. Common in Europe, but not in the Nordic countries. Found in USA, Canada and Latin America. Experts say that catfish can attack any Living being which is on the surface of the water. A predator always swallows its prey whole. It can't tear off pieces like a shark because it doesn't have teeth as such. Small teeth are more like a brush. At the same time, catfish, which can live up to 100 years, are sometimes unable to provide themselves with a regular breakfast. Therefore, it is easier for him to find prey on the surface: ducks, birds, dogs and even people.

I found just such a photo with the caption - "the biggest cannibal catfish", but for me it looks more like. This is the story they tell in addition to the photo:

Last summer, the huge size of the catfish scared the residents of the Kazakh city of Aktobe, located on the banks of the Ilek River. Citizens even turned to the authorities with a request to finally catch the killer fish.

Rumors about the existence of a cannibal catfish intensified after three young people drowned in the water area near the Zhilgorodsky beach.

“Local residents say that catfish is to blame for the deaths of people. Once on a moonlit night,” says Boris Tatarintsev, an old-timer of these places, “I saw a huge fish: a giant catfish was basking on the surface. It has to eat a lot to feed itself. And a lot of people have disappeared here …"

"Catfish is the largest of the river predators. According to the famous zoologist Bram, the length of this fish reaches 3 meters, and the weight is 230 kg. However, judging by other sources, the length and weight of catfish can be much larger. For example, the American zoologist David Wheeler in his book Killer Fish names the figures 6.3 meters and 500 kg!

Catfish live in almost all major rivers, lakes and reservoirs in Russia and the CIS - from the southern borders to Far East. They are also distributed in Europe - except for the northern countries. Catfish live in Canada, the USA and Latin America. But, by and large, giant fish can appear in any reservoir where there is a good one for them.
food base.

According to experts, catfish can attack any living creature that is on the surface of the water. The predator, which has practically no enemies, always tries to swallow the prey whole. Catfish cannot tear off pieces from it, like sharks, because they do not have teeth, as such. Small teeth in several rows are more like a brush, with which it is impossible to bite the victim.

It is quite difficult for a huge catfish weighing several hundred kilograms, which has lived for half a century (and they can live up to 100 years), to provide themselves with regular breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hunting for fish is a burden for him. The 50-year-old catfish has speed and strength in abundance, but the maneuverability is not the same. Another thing is prey floating on the surface
water - ducks, geese, dogs and other four-legged animals that decided to enter the water at their own misfortune. And, of course, a person who is much easier to grab by the leg than the same dog. Having tasted a person, catfish, like some African crocodiles, can switch exclusively to such food.

A story is circulating in Ukraine that supposedly happened on the Dnieper. A few years ago, a towing ship that disappeared the day before was discovered near the island of Khortytsya at a depth of 15 meters. There was a huge hole in its side, in which a five-meter catfish was stuck!

When his carcass was raised to the surface and the stomach was opened, all those present gasped in horror: inside were the remains of three vainly searched for Polish tourists, who had recently transferred from a ship in distress to a motor boat, but never reached the shore.

Local old-timers claim that killer catfish have already committed more than a dozen attacks on motor and sailing boats. The disappearances of fishing enthusiasts who preferred fishing away from the coast also became more frequent.

All these chilling stories were born for a reason. Catfish is the most big fish fresh water. In our reservoirs, only sturgeons were larger than catfish, but now they are practically not found.

In the Khopersky Reserve, in the presence of two rangers, a forester and a senior researcher at a biological station, a catfish attack on a young deer was recorded. In front of eyewitnesses, a voracious predator dragged the poor fellow to the bottom of the lake. Old-timers note that similar cases have happened before.

Attempts to locate and capture the killer catfish have been unsuccessful. The commission, created on the initiative of the reserve administration and specialists from the biological faculty of the Voronezh State University, came to the conclusion that the unusual behavior of the catfish is due to a tectonic fault and an unusual state earth's crust in the area of the Khopersky reserve. The recorded energy releases in the fault zone could be the cause of such an unusual, aggressive behavior soma.

At the end of the summer of 1996 in the village of Kulakovo (Rossoshansky district Voronezh region) two people, a woman and a boy, became victims of the cannibal catfish. If the prey of a catfish is too large for its grazing, the predator leaves it for some time at the bottom. And only when the corpse begins to decompose and becomes soft, the catfish gradually begins to absorb pieces of flesh into itself. Usually, the killer fish goes hunting at sunset and scours the pond in search of prey until dawn. That is why it is not advisable to swim in the evening in places where catfish are found.

The famous ichthyologist Richiuti cites a number of historical cases when people became victims of catfish. So, in 1613, a river predator swallowed a child in the area of \u200b\u200bpresent Pressburg, in 1754, the corpse of a 7-year-old child was found in the belly of one of the giant catfish, and at the end of the 18th century, a predator was caught in Turkey, in the belly of which was the body of a woman. Another report from Turkey says that in 1793, two little girls became victims of a cannibal catfish.

Legends of mermen who drag their victims to the bottom, and the notoriety of some river whirlpools can also be associated with giant river catfish.

“Last summer, I was vacationing with relatives in the Shatursky district of the Moscow region,” says Nikolai Blinkov. - And then one morning, at eight o'clock, my nephew Andreika probably wakes me up and shouts almost in my ear: “Uncle Kol, Uncle Kol, get up faster, let's go look at the Water Man! He arranged a whole concert in the lake "...

At first, I didn’t understand anything half asleep, but Andrey quickly explained everything to me. It turns out that in the Great Lake, on the shore of which our village is located, for more than an hour now the real Vodyanoy has been rampaging, the one about which fairy tales are told!

Actually, I didn’t believe in fairy tales for a long time, but my nephew was so convincing that I was forced to go with him to the lake without even washing my face. Fortunately, it was a few minutes from home.

As it soon became clear, not only we came to see the suddenly appeared miracle Yudo. At least two-thirds of the entire population of the village gathered on the shore. People were talking animatedly and pointing their fingers to the middle of the lake, where the real hell was really happening!

It looked like a torpedo fired from a naval ship. She herself is not visible, only a water breaker is visible on the surface, waves diverging from it and a long foamy trail. Even I was trembling. A woman who was standing not far from me squealed hysterically. Probably a little more, and we would all have rushed headlong in different directions, but the next moment the “torpedo” braked sharply and, turning 180 degrees, rushed back to the center of the lake. I breathed a sigh of relief and, I think, not only me.

The "dancing" of the water continued for at least half an hour, and then he disappeared under the water completely and did not appear again until the end of the day.

The mysterious incident on the lake would probably have remained unsolved, and, subsequently, it might have added to the list of local legends, if the next morning the village fisherman had not seen from the boat ... a dead man lying at the bottom of the lake!

I, as always, appeared on the spot already in the midst of events. On the shore, two young guys put on scuba gear, a village district police officer bustled nearby, and in the crowd, which increased even more compared to yesterday morning, the same fisherman who discovered the drowned man walked and told everyone his story:

... After a while, the scuba divers dragged the “drowned man” ashore to the admiring exclamations of the audience and the caustic remarks of the district police officer to the fisherman, who, only from a severe hangover, mistook for a dead man ... wild goose and a huge catfish tightly clinging to it!

It turns out that it was their mortal struggle that we saw the day before and mistook the raging Waterman for an incredible dance. Although the incredible in this story, too, abound. Firstly, the catfish itself strikes, the length of which turned out to be almost two meters, and, secondly, the fight of this monster fish with a goose that lasted for several hours in a row, which in itself causes genuine surprise and, frankly speaking, quiet horror! The goose, after all, is also a bird not small and strong enough.

Two days later my vacation came to an end. Driving past the lake, I noticed that its shores are empty. There were no swimmers, no one sat with fishing rods. The bloodthirsty catfish, which, quite possibly, had no less huge relatives in the lake, frightened the villagers more than the fabulous Vodyany!

I wonder why they catch such giants? I'm not a fisherman myself, but here's what I read about catfish.

An elderly warrior said that in the war he personally caught a catfish weighing 40 kg. And, indeed, when it was "sawed" - it smelled strongly of mud inside, there was a very unpleasant smell. After all, catfish eat everything that floats in the water, everything that "moves". So it's better to let catfish go free, let them live up to 80 years...

like fish to eat catfish shit. After I saw a dead horse in the water and a bunch of catfish, I can’t even look at them, I still remember the smell. In India, catfish grow very large due to local burial rites.

Yes, scavengers, like burbot. My uncle also stopped eating them from his youth, when they caught a burbot with a net that climbed into the boot of a drowned man

Completely pointless trophy in every way. And so - this is a nurse fish, which passes through itself a bunch of "everything" and, first of all, any carrion. In theory, they should not be caught at all and released if caught inadvertently.

These catfish live in Thailand

But such in Chernobyl ...

Here is the Kazakh SOMISCHE ...

And this catfish knows where!

Photos from open sources

Scientists are alarmed: the inevitably changing ecological situation has led to the fact that the behavior of these giants becomes unpredictable. Of course, catfish are not sharks or crocodiles, but they are predators and therefore represent a certain danger. (website)

Unpredictable killer catfish

Catfish live up to hundreds of years and are perfectly adapted to living conditions. However, being primarily underwater orderlies, they often become killers.

Photos from open sources

These giants prefer quiet waters, where they most often become the prey of fishermen. For example, in the Kapchagai reservoir (Kazakhstan) a few years ago they caught a catfish 2 m 74 cm long and weighing more than a centner. Our "domestic" specimens can weigh three hundred kilograms, reaching a length of four to five meters. There are cases when fishermen saw much larger catfish. There is even a monument to one of these giants on Lake Issyk-Kul. This is the bone skeleton of the natural mouth of a huge catfish, which looks like an arch, under which any adult can freely pass.

Catfish always ambush

Terrible fish can be seen with your own eyes in the Kazakhstani river Ilek. That is why it is officially forbidden to swim there. The whole reality of the danger to life that these creatures carry is not difficult to imagine, remembering the tragic incident in the Voronezh reservoir (which took place about fifteen years ago), when a gigantic catfish attacked a child and a girl. But in Khabarovsk, many people still remember the incident that happened about half a century ago, when a giant catfish was dragged under water little boy. Enraged residents unsuccessfully tried to catch the monster, but only the military managed to track it down and shoot it with machine guns.

Photos from open sources

Catfish prefer to hunt by ambush. They pounce on their prey from below and drag it to the depths. About amazing story once told the Ukrainian media. At a fifteen-meter depth near the island of Khortitsa, divers found a sunken ship, in the hole of which a five-meter catfish was stuck. In its entrails were found the remains of three passengers of the sunken ship - Polish citizens. It is noteworthy that the local population did not consider given fact amazing. According to local residents, toothy monsters often attack people and even fishing boats...

Lipetsk monster

One of these monsters once appeared in the Matyr reservoir, also called the Lipetsk Sea. Many eyewitnesses said that this monster was simply incredible in size. It impudently and with impunity hosted in the reservoir and devoured the game that was found there, as well as domestic animals, including dogs. One of the local fishermen - Semyon Lvov - in the morning, as usual, went fishing. Suddenly he saw the outline of something huge and dark sliding in the water. The next moment, the body of a gigantic fish rose into the air, splashing water, and immediately dived back, disappeared into the depths. When he came to his senses, the fisherman realized that he had seen an incredibly large catfish: it was about ten meters long.

Photos from open sources

Dangerous carrion catfish

The rivers of Thailand are also famous for such unusual fish. So, almost three centners were caught in the Mekong. Since this catch was officially recorded on state level, the Thai catfish was recognized as the world's largest freshwater fish.

Photos from open sources

For Russian rivers 100-kilogram mustachioed creatures are commonplace. Buried in the silt, catfish become almost invisible in the water. But already in the old days, the villagers knew well how dangerous these huge toothy creatures were. Before the women began to wash clothes in the river, their husbands carefully examined the reservoir in order to make sure that there were no large catfish ...

Usually these fish hunt early in the morning or in the evening, so in given time You should not swim in unfamiliar places. Although catfish are mostly scavengers and eat dead organisms, you should be careful. The geography of distribution of these fish is very wide: catfish live in almost any fresh water bodies of our planet. Therefore, deciding to swim in an unfamiliar place, be careful!

Those who live near freshwater bodies have heard various horror stories about cannibal catfish that ate unsuspecting people. Maybe even some have heard the story when a fisherman went to fish and, going to the shore, to go a little deeper into the reservoir, stepped on a snag that moored to the shore and suddenly ... the snag came to life, it turned out that it was a huge catfish, the fisherman quickly ran away. Have you heard this?

First, in order to understand what kind of fish we are talking about, let's figure out what kind of fish it is and whether it is generally capable of swallowing a person. We will focus on the common catfish or the European catfish, since it is these catfish that live in our reservoirs and it would be better for us to analyze, we will deal with overseas creatures a little later.

According to Wikipedia, catfish can reach up to 5 meters and 500 kg, which is impressive, just like a shark. In terms of appetite, it is described as an insatiable animal. It has a broad, flat head and an extremely wide mouth, which has small, sandpaper-like teeth, and there are hundreds of them. It also has two sets of barbels on its upper and lower jaws, which help the fish hunt their prey in the dark waters of the large lakes and slow-flowing rivers throughout Europe. Common catfish is a very good hunter, at first with the help of their pectoral fins he disorients his prey and then, using his huge vacuum mouth, sucks and swallows the prey whole.

Documentary film "Hunter for freshwater giants»: extreme fish Jakub Wagner caught a huge catfish

Is he a cannibal or is it all fiction? The first stories about cannibal catfish appeared in the 15th century, and every century their number is only growing. In 2008, a wave of attacks was reported on Lake Schlachten, which is outside of Berlin. Many believe that it was a 2-meter common catfish. These fish were caught in Russia with human remains found in their stomachs, but most experts suspect that the victims drowned before being swallowed. However, the common catfish can exhibit aggressive behavior during the mating season, raising the possibility that this monster fish may be responsible for attacks on humans who risk entering its territory.

Who loves to watch Jeremy Wade, in his documentary « River monsters» he investigates the attacks of huge river monsters on people, this is what he says about this: “Due to raising the water level above the dams, many sunken snags do not allow the fish to move freely. But no one told the catfish that he could go upstairs and drag me down. It would be a long drawn out confrontation as my heels would sink into the mud…”

Therefore, if an ordinary catfish that grows large enough to swallow people entering the water, then it is likely that it can do the same with any other big booty. Catfish are very indiscriminate eaters.

We believe that it is extremely unlikely that catfish can kill and eat a person. They are forced to swallow their prey whole, but even their maximum size can hardly afford to swallow even small child. You can see a stuffed animal of such catfish and sometimes they reach 3 meters, but even such a monster is unlikely to be its own. huge mouth could swallow a child. A few years ago, a catfish was discovered floating on the surface. This happened after he attacked a floating soccer ball, it got stuck in his mouth and the poor fish suffocated. It wasn't even a real soccer ball like the ones used for the professional game, it was smaller and made of rubber. If you look closely, you can see that the entrance to the esophagus is much narrower than the mouth of the fish itself, at least two times smaller, apparently that is why the fish could not swallow the ball, it simply got stuck in its mouth, and the teeth prevented spitting the ball out. This is probably why even a 3-meter catfish can do the most that it can swallow a very small child.

Even giant catfish 2.78 m long and weighing 144 kg had a mouth width of 34 cm. Below you can see very good photos of the specimens mentioned.

Photo. Caught catfish next to his angler

Photo. Catfish caught in Spain

Photo. good catfish

These photo shoots are especially good because they don't distort actual dimensions catfish, as in most other photographs that show anglers with fish, and here they can be compared with the size of people.

A length of 2.5 m or more seems long enough to swallow a human, but in addition to the problem of the width of the mouth, the catfish has a problem with its capacity. Most of the length of the catfish falls on its tail, as well as its stomach, in fact the "body" is much shorter. You can see this very well in the photographs as the ventral region only takes up about a third of the total length. It is already difficult to imagine a child in a catfish and almost impossible for an adult. Catfish teeth are small and can only scratch the skin, they are not able to bite off part of the body, as a shark can.

But one cannot completely deny the possibility of the found parts of the human body in the stomach of an ordinary catfish. It's entirely possible, at least there are a few stories that inspired horror stories, but there's no reason to believe that a catfish won't eat parts of the human body that it can't swallow whole. It is well known that catfish eat not only small mammals and birds, but also pieces of meat or intestines, and sometimes fishermen use the intestines as bait for catching catfish.

Since catfish are not capable of biting off pieces of human flesh, it is reasonable to believe that the parts of the human remains found in the stomachs of catfish were people who were either killed and torn to pieces by their killers or this happened as a result of an accident (accident). There is also a second option, that catfish really managed to dismember dead people who had been under water for quite a long time, because of which their bodies began to decompose and softened. However, we are not sure that catfish are able to feed on the carcass at the stage of decomposition, but we would not completely exclude this possibility.

Of course, the possibility remains that giant catfish did indeed attack and swallow small children, but because of this, it is definitely not worth declaring catfish as cannibals, as is done in River Monsters. Many cases have been recorded when dogs (even hyenas) ate people, but in general, are dogs cannibals?

Despite everything described above, there remains one more reason that we have not considered: killing for the sake of killing. But what if the catfish does not realize that, for example, he grabbed a person by the leg and pulls him to the bottom, does not understand that he still cannot swallow him whole? Such a crazy idea as a catfish specifically drowned people, so that later the corpse would be dragged under water and wait until it decomposed and then eat, we immediately discard. We think it is clear why we are doing this. Nevertheless, let us explain, catfish belong to fish, their brain is not as developed as in more developed animals, like mammals, they are not able to build intricate hunting plans, such as lions, killer whales, everything is much simpler for them - what I see is I drag into the mouth.

The murder case under consideration is well illustrated by the aforementioned Jeremy Wade in his documentary "River Monsters", a series called "Amazon Titanic". In this episode, Jeremy investigates a case that happened in the 80s on the Amazon River. The steamer “Sobral Santos”, loaded with people at night, could not successfully dock at the city pier and began to sink, as a result, according to various estimates, from 50 to 300 people drowned, and according to the survivors, someone helped them. At the end of the film, Jeremy comes to the conclusion that two types of catfish are to blame for this, it turned out that they were fed by a nearby fish processing plant and constantly draining waste into the river. Most likely, his investigation cannot be considered complete, since he never “caught the criminal”, he used the opposite method, which is very doubtful. In the same river there are a lot of living creatures, including river sharks, crocodiles. He believes that the catfish grabbed people by the legs and dragged them under the water, under the snags, where people choked, supposedly confused the catfish with the bloody entrails thrown out at the plant and, out of habit, grabbed and dragged. But one thing, a person would resist and would be much larger than anything a catfish could eat, no doubt, large catfish are able to drag almost any person under water, they have enough strength for this.

Of course, such a scenario is quite possible and should not be ruled out. So if you are swimming where there is a processing plant nearby and there are a lot of large catfish swimming in the water, then you should be wary of entering the water.

And further. Due to ignorance of the fish fauna, people can confuse catfish with other representatives of fish, not even suspecting that they are very different in their eating habits. In particular, it was reported that in China (in the province of Guangdong) they caught a huge cannibal itself. There was so much hype, so many pictures were taken, so many interviews were given. But later it turned out that it was just a whale shark, apparently it was confused with a frog catfish because of the similarity of its mouth. Yes, you can see for yourself.

Later, the Chinese government denied that it was this caught fish that was responsible for the deaths of people that occurred before July 25, 2006. Still, as you know, the whale shark (by the way, the largest fish on earth) feeds exclusively on plankton.

Whale shark caught in Chinese river

It should also not be ruled out that a person can be pricked by the thorns of a poisonous catfish, like the South Australian eel catfish (lat. Cnidoglanis macrocephalus), which lives in the waters of some Australian states. He certainly will not kill a person, but will deliver excruciating pain. Its venomous spines hide in its pectoral and dorsal fins, which it uses purely for defensive purposes. One such case, when a man decided to pick up this catfish and was stung by thorns, you can see in the video below.

Video. About the attack of the poisonous Australian catfish

Interesting cases
In 2015, Alfons Brzozowski and Marek Zdanowicz, while fishing on the Bubr River, which flows in southwestern Poland, managed to catch a real giant, a catfish 3.7 meters long and weighing 187.5 kilograms, this is really a good catch.

But their joy was spoiled by what they found inside the fish: the remains of a World War II Nazi. In addition to the remains of more small fish they found several fragments of a human skull and a metal badge with a Nazi eagle. They immediately contacted the police to investigate the origin of the man's remains.

Relatively little information could be gleaned from them. He was a white man of about 20 years of age, he died many decades ago. Biologists have estimated the age of the giant catfish at 90-110 years. Thus, it is one of the oldest fish of this species to be seen.

Photo. Fragments of a human skull

Careful analysis showed that, most likely, the catfish in 1940 came across German soldier SS who died during the occupation of Poland. The medical examiners were unable to determine the cause of death, nor were they able to determine whether the man died as a result of a catfish attack or not.

"We only have a few fragments, most of the skeleton is missing,” said Dr. Patek Lojko, “we do not have much evidence of his death, but we can say with almost certainty that this is the remains of a German member of the SS. In addition to bone fragments, an eagle was found in the catfish, which was part of the SS uniform, it was worn on the uniform. Also found were two buttons and cufflinks with the same shape. Many bones have come out of the fish over the years. Through testing, we found evidence of damage to the stomach tissue, so the bones were certainly a significant inconvenience to the fish.”

Of course, anglers who specialize in catching these amazing fish - catfish, still catch very large specimens - up to 100 kg. According to its external features, catfish easily differs from all other fish. He has a huge blunt head, a large mouth, from which two large mustaches and four mustaches extend on his chin. Whiskers are a kind of tentacles, with the help of which the catfish finds food even in the dark. And what is surprising - with such large dimensions - very small eyes. The tail is long and looks a little like a fish. The color of the body is variable - almost black on top, while the belly is usually off-white. His body is naked, without scales.

Catfish food is the most diverse, it feeds on mollusks, worms, crayfish and other living creatures. The main one is the fish, which he attacks from shelters and ambushes, disguising himself as the background of the bottom (he is incapable of long-term pursuit of his victims). If a waterfowl or animal gapes, then they can become its victim. Catfish are especially willing to eat green frogs. It is on the use of this predilection that his “kwok” fishing is based. Like the pike, the catfish is an excellent orderly of water bodies: it eats weakened, dead fish, drowned animals, etc. Puberty of catfish occurs at the 3rd - 4th year of life, spawning begins with the water warming up to 20 degrees. Usually spawning is a pair. The female spawns in shallow areas with a weak current or without it at all into a depression dug in the ground. Males guard the eggs until the fry appear. After spawning, catfish migrate to summer camps and begin to feed actively. Post-spawning zhor is the most active. It continues almost until the middle of summer, then gradually decreases, and at the first night frosts, the catfish completely stops feeding.

Catfish is a homebody. Usually he spends his whole life in one hole, unless extraordinary circumstances force him to look for another place. The catfish leads a solitary life, only some accumulation can be observed in the wintering pits. The first 2 - 3 years, young catfish also prefer to stay together, this is usually observed in places rich in food. Catfish are predominantly nocturnal, and if they move, then more at dawn. On hot days, they may come to the surface of the water. They are very sensitive to cold. But catfish are more mobile.

At night, in search of food, they go to shallow places to the shores ... Catfish are predominantly nocturnal, and if they move, then more at dawn. On hot days, they may come to the surface of the water. They are very sensitive to cold. But catfish are more mobile. At night, in search of food, they go to shallow places to the shores. Catfish do not like muddy water, and therefore in rainy weather, when muddy water enters the river, it tends to leave the pit to the surface. The same behavior is observed before a thunderstorm. Being large fish, catfish easily find themselves: they leave a characteristic mark when moving in the water, make sounds, splash. When searching for food, catfish are guided to a greater extent by their sense of smell. Therefore, in the bait, which is used as all kinds of food waste, chopped entrails of domestic animals, etc., components singed on fire are added.

Many catfish anglers claim that catfish really like the smell of singed feathers, wool and felt. Live fish are also used as bait: crucian carp, tench, bream, squint, gobies, rams, etc. It is almost impossible to catch a catfish on a weak tackle and a thin line, because it will break a thin line or a weak cord without much effort. Catfish is a very strong fish. If he got on the hook to the fisherman, then it is not so easy to pull him out.

Catfish is the most voracious predator of fresh waters, it eats not only fish, but also frogs, small waterfowl, devours various food waste that enters the river, swallows large mollusks, etc. A small catfish catches a worm when catching other fish .

The body structure of the catfish is adapted for bottom life; it rarely rises to the upper layers of the water. Its head is large, wide and flattened, its mouth is huge with numerous small teeth. There are two long antennae on the upper jaw, and four short ones on the lower jaw. On the back, an incongruously small fin, while the anal, wide and long, connects to the tail, which makes the catfish very powerful. The skin is bare, without scales. The eyes are small and very "evil".

Catfish specimens weighing about 50 kg can be caught in our rivers.

The best time for catching catfish is July-August. It is best caught shortly after spawning, which usually takes place at a temperature of 18-22 °C. The best fishing time during the day should be considered from dusk to dawn. But even during the day, the possibility of his grips is not ruled out if the bait passes close to his mouth.

When fighting large fish, moreover, flowing at night or at dusk, you must be careful and make sure that the lines do not overflow by the hand, otherwise you can cut it badly. The technique of catching catfish with spinning has not yet been mastered enough, but by using conventional fishing methods, you can count on success.

Catfish is not just a fish. The waterman rides on it, and the catfish carries the drowned for him. That's why he's called "damn horse". How many fishing stories and "horror stories" about catfish!

Catfish drown and eat ducklings, goslings and adult waterfowl. Eyewitnesses claimed that they saw how the catfish swam up to the trees bent over the water and with a blow of the tail knocked down not only the nest with the chicks, but also some dreaming crow.

They say that huge catfish drowned dogs and calves and attacked people, especially children. There is a legend in Siberia about a catfish that drowned a bear swimming across the river.

On July 16, 1982, in the Khopersky Reserve, in front of the huntsman, forester and researcher at the biological station, the catfish attacked a young deer and dragged it under water.

Now, in one of the lakes of the Dutch leisure park "Centerparcs", tourists are intimidated by fear, mixed with curiosity, by a catfish 2.3 meters long.

The main diet of Big Mommy - this is how the locals called the catfish - are ducks, which, through negligence, choose its lake for recreation. According to park staff, the underwater monster eats two or three birds a day. In addition, he already has several large and small dogs on his account.

According to Centerparcs biologist Jean Hanks, Big Mom managed to grow to such a size due to the fact that the lake has unusually clear water, there is plenty of food around and it is very calm.

In order not to scare away tourists, the authorities initially hushed up the incident, but nevertheless the news became public. Currently, swimming in the reservoir is prohibited due to the high probability that other man-eating fish are also found in it.

Catfish can reach 300 kg of weight and five meters in length, and there is evidence that a hundred years ago 400 kg monsters were caught in the rivers of Russia. Vladimir Ermolin, a senior researcher at the Saratov Regional Research Institute of River and Lake Fisheries, said in an interview with Saratovnews that he came across giants weighing 260-290 kilograms in the Volga and its tributaries.

According to Bram, the length of this fish can be up to 3 meters, and the weight is 220 kg, but the American zoologist David Weller in his book "Killer Fish" speaks of 6.3 meters and 500 kg!

Leonid Sabaneeva in his work "Life and catching freshwater fish" wrote that the jaw of a catfish caught in the lake was installed on Lake Issyk-Kul. It stood vertically in the form of an arch and an adult could freely, without bending, pass through it.

In South America, in the rivers of the Amazon basin, the length of catfish reaches 3 meters. In India and Indonesia, 4-meter individuals are found.

The largest catfish in Europe was caught in Italy in March 2011. Its weight was equal to 114 kilograms, its length is exactly 2.5 meters. A fisherman named Robert Gody pulled the fish ashore for 50 minutes. And not just one, but with the help of several people. As a result, catfish became the largest freshwater fish caught in European waters. She also received the title of the largest catfish in the world, which she managed to catch.

Now this title has passed to the giant shilb catfish, caught by the fishermen of Thailand in the Mekong River.

Its weight was 293 kilograms, and its length was 2.7 meters. The fish were weighed, measured, and photographed by Thai authorities.

Zoologists and ecologists fought for the legendary catfish - they wanted to take it under their supervision. However, the locals killed it and ate it with pleasure.

But are there still catfish cannibals?

Catfish is the largest river predator. Its weight can reach 230 kilograms with a length of 3 meters. However, the fish can also grow to large sizes. For example, the American zoologist David Wheeler mentions in his book "Killer Fish" a catfish of 500 kilograms and 6.3 meters.

Catfish live in almost all large water bodies in Russia and the CIS countries. Common in Europe, but not in the Nordic countries. Can be found in the USA, Canada and Latin America. Experts say that catfish can attack any living creature that is on the surface of the water. A predator always swallows its prey whole. It can't tear off pieces like a shark because it doesn't have teeth as such. Small teeth are more like a brush. At the same time, catfish, which can live up to 100 years, are sometimes unable to provide themselves with a regular breakfast. Therefore, it is easier for him to find prey on the surface: ducks, birds, dogs and even people.

I found just such a photo with the caption - "the biggest cannibal catfish", but for me it looks more like a WHALE SHARK. This is the story they tell in addition to the photo:

Every year, bathers mysteriously disappeared in one of the Chinese reservoirs. The mystery of the disappearances has already been revealed. It turned out that a three-meter catfish with a head over a meter was found in the pond. Human remains were found inside the fish.

Last summer, the huge size of the catfish scared the residents of the Kazakh city of Aktobe, located on the banks of the Ilek River. Citizens even turned to the authorities with a request to finally catch the killer fish.

Rumors about the existence of a cannibal catfish intensified after three young people drowned in the water area near the Zhilgorodsky beach.

“Local residents say that catfish is to blame for the deaths. Once on a moonlit night, - says Boris Tatarintsev, an old-timer of these places, - I saw a huge fish: a giant catfish was basking on the surface. He must eat a lot to feed himself. And a lot of people have disappeared here ... "

“Catfish is the largest of the river predators. According to the famous zoologist Bram, the length of this fish reaches 3 meters, and the weight is 230 kg. However, judging by other sources, both the length and weight of catfish can be much larger. For example, the American zoologist David Wheeler in his book Killer Fish names the numbers 6.3 meters and 500 kg!”

Catfish live in almost all major rivers, lakes and reservoirs in Russia and the CIS - from the southern borders to the Far East. They are also distributed in Europe - except for the northern countries. Catfish live in Canada, the USA and Latin America. But, by and large, giant fish can appear in any reservoir where there is a good one for them.

food base.

According to experts, catfish can attack any living creature that is on the surface of the water. The predator, which has practically no enemies, always tries to swallow the prey whole. Catfish cannot tear off pieces from it, like sharks, because they do not have teeth, as such. Small teeth in several rows are more like a brush, with which it is impossible to bite the victim.

water - ducks, geese, dogs and other four-legged animals that decided to enter the water at their own misfortune. And, of course, a person who is much easier to grab by the leg than the same dog. Having tasted a person, catfish, like some African crocodiles, can switch exclusively to such food.

All these chilling stories were born for a reason. Catfish is the largest freshwater fish. In our reservoirs, only sturgeons were larger than catfish, but now they are practically not found.

In the Khopersky Reserve, in the presence of two rangers, a forester and a senior researcher at a biological station, a catfish attack on a young deer was recorded. In front of eyewitnesses, a voracious predator dragged the poor fellow to the bottom of the lake. Old-timers note that similar cases have happened before.

Attempts to locate and capture the killer catfish have been unsuccessful. The commission, created on the initiative of the reserve administration and specialists from the biological department of the Voronezh State University, came to the conclusion that the unusual behavior of the catfish is explained by a tectonic fault and the unusual state of the earth's crust in the area of the Khopersky reserve. The registered energy emissions in the fault zone could be the reason for such an unusual, aggressive behavior of the catfish.

At the end of the summer of 1996, in the village of Kulakovo (Rossoshansky district of the Voronezh region), two people, a woman and a boy, became victims of a cannibal catfish. If the prey of a catfish is too large for its grazing, the predator leaves it for some time at the bottom. And only when the corpse begins to decompose and becomes soft, the catfish gradually begins to absorb pieces of flesh into itself. Usually, the killer fish goes hunting at sunset and scours the pond in search of prey until dawn. That is why it is not advisable to swim in the evening in places where catfish are found.

“Last summer, I rested with relatives in the Shatursky district of the Moscow region,” says Nikolai Blinkov. - And then one morning, at eight o'clock, my nephew Andreika probably wakes me up and shouts almost in my ear: “Uncle Kol, Uncle Kol, get up faster, let's go look at the Water Man! He arranged a whole concert in the lake "...

Something incredibly large and not resembling either a person or an animal was rushing about a hundred meters away from us along the surface of the lake at a truly frantic speed, disappearing from time to time under the water and again jumping out of it with a loud splash and spray, flying far in different directions. At the same time, the monster made very thin squeaky sounds, turning into strangled wheezing. The sight was really so impressive and mesmerizing that I couldn't take my eyes off it. As, by the way, and all the others gathered on the shore. And the spectacle reached its highest point of incandescence when the miracle Yudo, once again disappearing under water, suddenly rushed rapidly in our direction.

It looked like a torpedo fired from a naval ship. She herself is not visible, only a water breaker is visible on the surface, waves diverging from it and a long foamy trail. Even I was trembling. A woman who was standing not far from me squealed hysterically. Probably a little more, and we would all have rushed headlong in different directions, but the next moment the “torpedo” braked sharply and, turning 180 degrees, rushed back to the center of the lake. I breathed a sigh of relief and, I think, not only me.

The "dancing" of the water continued for at least half an hour, and then he disappeared under the water completely and did not appear again until the end of the day.

The mysterious incident on the lake would probably have remained unsolved, and, subsequently, it might have added to the list of local legends, if the next morning the village fisherman had not seen from the boat ... a dead man lying at the bottom of the lake!

“On my boat, I dug out a place that had been fed since the evening, threw the fishing rods, I look, and right below me, at the bottom, he lies. All naked, white and arms spread out in different directions!”

... After a while, the scuba divers dragged the “drowned man” ashore to the admiring exclamations of the audience and the caustic remarks of the district police officer to the fisherman, who, with a severe hangover, mistook for a dead man ... a wild goose and a huge catfish tightly clinging to it!

An elderly warrior said that in the war he personally caught a catfish weighing 40 kg. And, indeed, when it was "sawed" - it smelled strongly of mud inside, there was a very unpleasant smell. After all, catfish eat everything that floats in the water, everything that “moves”. So it’s better to let catfish go free, let them live up to 80 years…

Yes, scavengers, like burbot. My uncle also stopped eating them from his youth, when they caught a burbot with a net that climbed into the boot of a drowned man

remembered. last year in Astrakhan they ate hot smoked catfish for a couple of days .... The liver failed on the second day, and the catfish rushed out in the middle of the night, and went out for three days, perhaps. The fact that he is not bony is a plus of course

These catfish live in Thailand

But such in Chernobyl ...

Here is the Kazakh SOMISCHE ...

And this catfish knows where!

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