Environment

Goonch Catfish Featured on Animal Planet: River Monster

by Amy Judd | September 6, 2009 at 01:18 pm

3303 views | 10 Recommendations | 3 comments

The giant Goonch Catfish, featured on the Animal Planet today, is a river monster that is responsible for a number of attacks on humans.

It lives in the Great Kali River between India and Nepal and as this river is known for the remains of fneral pyres after Hindu funeral rites, it has long since believed that the Goonch Catfish fed on the human corpses in the river.

It may have helped the fish develop a taste for human flesh.

The goonch stands accused of a number of human attacks, including the death of an 18-year-old Nepali in 2008, who was dragged down into the river by what witnesses described as an "elongated pig." Two similar attacks were reported in 1988.

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A. Tran

at 15:57 on September 6th, 2009

It wouldn't be a surprise that the giant Goonch Catfish had developed a taste for human flesh, given the local Hindu practices.

candie.lnrgn

at 16:32 on September 6th, 2009

it's tragic that animals are turned into monsters, a lot of the time due to our sick nature; what was once a docile, non harming fish is now a ravenous monster, and why? because corpses have been dumped in it's river, left for it to feed on and become accustomed to; now, we're a delicacy to them. it's sick.

K-seuss (not verified)

at 08:07 on October 23rd, 2009

I wouldn't call it a result of our sick nature. We did not turn them into monsters and I still wouldn't call them monsters. The Goonch happens to be a meat eating animal and humans happen to be a food source. The corpses are not dumped in the river and it is disrespectful to hindu culture to label it that. The act has been a hindu tradition for centuries and of course it's only natural for the goonch to continue eating it after they've acquired a taste for it, regardless of how that taste was acquired. Humans are the same: once they taste something and like it, they continue to eat it. It's the media who have made them look monstrous as a result.