Indian killer Catfish ?

I saw a programme about this a couple of weeks back and they did manage to catch one of the huge gonch catfish, it had big ol' teeth in it too kinda like a sharks (sloping in towards the mouth).

These fish were genuinely massive and seemed more than able to consume a human, most likely by holding them down and drowning them first. The one they caught was massive, and they guessed there were many in the water that were much larger, and as the OP stated, they got this way by feeding on human remains from a common funeral ritual of putting bodies of the deceased out into the river.

Fascinating stuff.

Shark!!!!

There is a Shark which inhabits the Ganges and there is no reason one couldn't enter any tributary from time to time, a type of Bull Shark and it has a taste for children...




Thats the Ganges Shark as it is known

here's a better pic




It is a coastal Shark that has no issues with swimming upstream into larger Rivers

It can also Breed In Fresh Water

This is it's range




Frighteningly and I did not know this until now

It seems it swims up the Mississippi once in awhile too

It can breed in water, swim in water and it is considered unlikely but not impossible that some...live entirely their lives in fresh water when the circumstances work that way

It's a stretch, but I see no reason a Bull shark couldn't make it all the way up the Kali in search of food, there are some rocky parts on the river, but I have seen videos of Bull sharks going through some incredibly shallow parts and tributaries of the Amazon...no more than a couple of feet deep at best, in monsoon season it would be entirely possible I am sure



Just...stay out of the water



[edit on 6-11-2008 by mopusvindictus]

Why not a catfish - the jaú (Paulicea lutkeni) is notorious among native people in the Amazon. It grows to 1.5m and can weigh over 100kg. Immense strength gives rise to its reputation for dragging fishermen down into the depths.

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