Freshwater sea monsters are much smaller in size than sea monsters living in the ocean, but their fearsome level is not inferior at all. These freshwater fish are always lurking and threatening human lives in places near river mouths.

In Animal Planet’s Monster River series, Jeremy Wade showed the audience real-life monster hunting trips. With giant sea monsters and the legends surrounding them, their dangers and what they did to humans.

13. Pacu fish

Pacu fish are known to have teeth similar to human teeth and have a habit of biting men’s testicles. Mistaking men’s testicles for edible seeds, this fish does not hesitate to approach and grab what it mistakenly thinks is food. An adult Pacu fish can grow up to 90cm and weigh up to 25kg. It usually eats seeds, leaves, underwater vegetation, and snails. The main food of this fish is beans, leaves and aquatic plants or snails. They also love to eat meat, so when given the opportunity, they will become dangerous attackers towards humans.

12. Arapaima fish

Arapaima is a giant carnivorous fish that haunts the waters of the Amazon forest. This is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. Arapaima fish can be up to 2.7m long and weigh 90kg. Arapaima are often at the surface of the water because they need to breathe air in addition to absorbing oxygen through their gills. This fish is so ferocious that its tongue also has teeth. When attacking, Arapaima often rushes straight towards the enemy. They can capsize boats and seriously injure people.

11. Caiman black crocodile

Caiman black crocodile is one of the ferocious sea monsters living in the Amazon river. They can be up to 6 meters long and are the top predators in the Amazon River. Caiman black crocodiles can eat anything near them, including piranhas, monkeys, deer, perch, pythons… In addition to the ability to stalk prey and perfect camouflage, Caiman black crocodiles also has extremely strong jaw force. They often bite and then drag their prey into the water, turning it around to tear it apart

10. Goliath (Congo Tigerfish)

Fishing for Congo tiger fish is a dangerous carnivorous fish

This fish is a legend in the rivers of the Congo, a terrible monster that makes the piranhas next to it look like seven-colored fish. With a maximum length of nearly 2 meters and a weight of about 30kg, this sea monster can easily tear apart large prey in just a few seconds. This monster’s mouth is equipped with sharp teeth, like blades up to 5cm long. There have been many disappearances in the Congo River in the past and it is rumored that there are dark powers covering these rivers. It wasn’t until later that people learned that the culprit was a 2m long sea monster living in the riverbed, once caught by Jeremy Wade.

9. Piraiba (South American catfish)

An Amazonian legend, the Piraiba fish is known as the largest catfish in South America, with a maximum length of up to 3m and a weight of more than 200kg. This sea monster’s mouth is more than 40cm wide and can easily swallow a large prey whole. This catfish uses color on its body to camouflage when hunting, with a gray-green color on its back and white under its belly. They eat all types of prey from large fish to mammals and even humans, luckily humans are not their favorite food. The number of deaths and disappearances related to South American catfish is statistically quite low, but they are still one of the scariest freshwater monsters.

8. Goonch (Indian Catfish)

Operating mainly on the Kali River, running between India and Nepal, this catfish is nearly 2 meters long and weighs about 70kg. Many people believe that this fish can grow to such a large size because the Kali River is polluted by industrial plants along with the disposal of corpses in Hindu funeral rituals . mutated. This sea monster also has a giant mouth and small but razor-sharp teeth. Now, there have been reports of a Goonch attack in India and an 18-year-old boy died, his body was never found again.

7. Barracuda (European Barracuda)

With a slim body nearly 2 meters long, Barracudas resemble living torpedoes with jaws up to nearly 10 centimeters long and sharp teeth. These torpedoes usually live alone until they reproduce, they hunt by camouflage by changing their body color to blend in with the surrounding environment. Their main food is small fish. However, during the breeding season, when hundreds of Barracuda gather in one area, food is scarce and they can cannibalize their own species due to their aggressive nature. At these times, humans or other species Large fish can also become good prey for a school of Barracuda.

6. Wels (Giant Catfish)

Europe’s seas may be quite peaceful, but if you travel near estuaries, you may come across one of these freshwater sea monsters that can grow up to 4m long and weigh nearly 200kg. That is the giant catfish, belonging to the catfish order, often living in the estuaries of Spain or the Volga River of Russia. This sea monster has a giant jaw with small razor-sharp teeth, making it impossible for any prey to escape. There was recently a confirmed attack by this fish on a German swimmer. In Russia, people caught a giant catfish and discovered a person’s entire body inside its stomach.

5. Stringray (Freshwater Stingray)

Freshwater stingrays, also known as stingrays, often live in rivers in Southeast Asia. Having a flat body like a giant saucer, this fish is famous not for its ferocity or attacks on humans, but for the poisonous substance contained in its 0.2m long tail. They often hide under the mud at the bottom of the river and attack their prey with poison in their tail similar to a scorpion. Silently and quietly kills its prey like a real assassin, with a length that can reach up to 4m and a weight of about 100kg.

4. Muskellunge (Pike)

This is a fish related to the Barracuda fish, Muskellunge also has an elongated body and large jaws with large fangs and hundreds of small, razor-sharp teeth. Muskellunge is the largest species in the pike family, their length can be up to 2m, weighing only about 50kg. However, with jaws full of sharp teeth, they can cause extremely serious injuries to their prey. Their main food is fish and small mammals. There have also been reports of attacks on humans, but fortunately no one has died.

3. Electric Eel (Catfish)

Electric eels belong to the catfish order, often living in Amazon rivers, with the largest recorded size being 2.5m and weighing 25kg. Electric eels do not have large, strong jaws or sharp teeth, nor are they poisonous, but they use a very special way to hunt and defend themselves, which is the ability to discharge electricity up to 600 volts . This current is enough to kill an adult; in many other cases, lighter electric shocks are enough to knock the victim unconscious and can lead to drowning. However, electric eels can still be handled safely with just a pair of rubber gloves.

2. Alligator Gar (Long-snouted crocodile)

This long-snouted crocodile easily reminds many people of a prehistoric monster , with a long, large body and a rather special jaw, along with many consecutive layers of small teeth, making it a nightmare. of any kind of creature unlucky enough to encounter them. This fish usually lives in rivers and lakes in the Americas, however the largest fish often live in North America, with the largest weight up to nearly 200kg and length up to 3m. Despite their giant bodies, their favorite food is small shrimp and fish. However, there have been many cases of long-snouted crocodile attacks in the US and also many disappearances that people believe have occurred. that it is related to this sea monster.

1. The killer of the ocean , sharks

Topping the list of the most dangerous freshwater monsters is a species considered the killer of the ocean , the shark. However, bull sharks are the only shark species that can live in brackish water in estuaries, and sometimes they can even go deep into inland areas such as Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky to find food. eat. They possess the killer hunting skills of sharks, plus a very aggressive nature. Bull sharks have caused many attacks and deaths in rivers in the United States. With a weight of up to 300kg, and a length of about 4m, the bull shark completely deserves the top position among the most dangerous freshwater monsters in the world today.