130 Pound Giant Goonch Catfish

Goonch Catfish feed on corpses that are put in rivers in India. This giant fish can reach 6 feet long and weigh over 100 pounds. Scary enough in itself but now these fish have moved on to other waters and have been looking for live swimmers to munch on.

In the region near the India-Nepal border, for many years there have been ritual burials in which a body is burned to some degree and then the burned bodies or remains are tossed into the Great Kali River. It seems that the river has a type of catfish called a “goonch” that regularly dines on the human remains. Legend has it that there is a large creature that prefers humans that are alive and a researcher has determined that the legend is real and that the predator is a giant “goonch” catfish that has gotten fat over the years from being fed the dead.

Above: Jakub Vágner lifts the 165 lbs and 6′2″ long world record Goonch Catfish.

The diet that the species has become accustomed to may have helped the goonch — or at least a few members of the species — grow to unusually huge proportions. It may also have led the goonch to develop a taste for human flesh, which may now be fueling frightening attacks on live humans.

River Monsters - Man Sized Fish Video: