Amazon River: Known as the “Lungs of the Earth”, it is the river with the largest drainage area and largest flow in the world. The Amazon River is suitable for plant growth. It has vast virgin forests with more than 20,000 species of various plants and is rich in high-quality wood. At the same time, there are also many terrifying creatures living here. Here are the top ten scary creatures in the Amazon River Basin.
10. Black Caiman
The black caiman can be up to 6 meters long and has a jawbone larger and heavier than that of the Nile. It is the top predator in the waters of the Amazon. They are the overlord of this river. As long as they can eat, they will eat everything, including piranhas. , monkeys, deer, pythons, etc., they will also attack humans. In 2010, a biologist was attacked by a black caiman on a houseboat. Although he managed to escape, he also lost a leg. The crocodile was under the houseboat 8 Months waiting for an opportunity to attack.
9. Anaconda
The Amazon anaconda is the largest snake in the world today, reaching a length of more than 6 meters and weighing more than 250 kilograms. It is a symbol of life and death. Anacondas love water and usually live on muddy banks or shallow water. They prey and sometimes even devour caimans, jaguars, etc. up to 2 meters long. An American adventure show actually filmed a snake swallowing a living person, but it was stopped just after half the head was swallowed. On the evening of December 7, 2014, this program was put on the screen by an American channel. But when the anaconda opened its bloody mouth and bit Rossoli’s head, he sent a distress signal to his assistant, and the process of swallowing him alive came to an abrupt end.
8. Arapaima
Arapaima is a huge carnivorous fish that lives in the Amazon River and surrounding lakes. They are very powerful predators, mainly feeding on fish and birds. They can be up to 2.7 meters long, and they even have tongues on them. They all have teeth and are very ferocious. It was listed in the World Conservation Union in 2012.
7. Giant Otter
They are the longest in the rodent family. Adult male giant otters can be up to two meters long from head to tail. They mainly feed on fish and crabs. Don’t be fooled by their cute appearance. They can even eat the above-mentioned creatures, their numbers are decreasing due to human factors. They are one of the most powerful predators in the Amazon and are also known as “river wolves”.
6. Parasitic catfish
The Amazon River not only supports giant creatures, but even the smallest creatures are terrifying. The parasitic catfish is very small and is a parasitic organism that lives in fresh water. It is said that if you urinate by the river, the parasitic catfish will be attracted into the urethra. Although such cases are rarely documented, they do occur and require surgery to remove the parasitic catfish. But they usually live inside fish. The parasitic catfish is the only vertebrate animal in the world that can parasitize humans.
5. Bull Shark
Unlike other marine sharks, bull sharks can move in freshwater rivers, so they are almost always responsible for nearshore attacks on humans. They are generally 3.3 meters long, and some even weigh 312 kilograms. Like many sharks, they have multiple rows of teeth and a very strong bite. Many experts consider them to be the most dangerous animals in the world.
4. Red-bellied Piranha
Like all piranhas, the red belly has sharp teeth that are interlocked, allowing them to easily tear apart the flesh of their prey. Schools of fish will swarm around their prey, eating it down to the bones in minutes, but such attacks are rare and usually occur in times of hunger or provocation.
3. Electric eel
Closer to a catfish than an eel, they are up to 2.5 meters long and generate electrical vibrations through special cells called electrolytes that line their flanks. Although one impact is not enough to kill a person, multiple impacts can cause heart or respiratory failure. Fortunately they tend to eat fish, birds, amphibians and small mammals. As a result, the electric eel was also selected as one of the “most terrifying freshwater animals on earth” listed on the National Geographic magazine website.
2. Mackerel-like water wolf toothfish (vampire fish)
They are absolutely ferocious carnivores that can grow up to 1.2 meters long. They mainly feed on piranhas and can eat species half the size of themselves. Their name comes from those two fangs. The teeth can grow up to 15 centimeters and are used to pierce prey. Because the fangs are so long, there are two special holes in the upper jaw to prevent them from hurting themselves.
1. Paku Piranha
The Pacu piranha is native to the Amazon region. They have unique human-like teeth and are omnivorous, with a large portion of their diet coming from fruits and nuts. Unfortunately, there have been a few cases of Pacu biting off the testicles of male swimmers. He is famous for biting off the testicles of many fishermen in Papua New Guinea, so he is ridiculed as an “egg cutter”.
