The waters of the Amazon are teeming with even more dangerous monsters that will not leave you the slightest chance. Still want to visit this place? For you, we have prepared a list of the 10 most dangerous animals that live in this river.
black caiman
This is the jock in the world of alligators. The largest individuals reach 6 meters in length. Such creatures have the reaction of a mongoose and the strength of a tiger. The most dangerous predators of the Amazon, which will tear to shreds anyone who falls into their huge mouths.
Anaconda
Another huge predator that lives in local waters is the anaconda. This is the largest snake in the world, weighing up to 250 kilograms. Anacondas are 9 meters long and 30 centimeters in diameter. If such a creature wraps itself around a person, he will no longer be saved. These monsters love shallow water, so they spend most of their time in the tributaries of the river.
Arapaima
These giants have armored scales, so even piranhas are nothing to them. Arapaim hunt mainly for smaller fish and birds, but are not averse to eating human beings. Fish grow up to three meters in length and weigh up to 90 kilograms. The monsters are so ferocious that they even have teeth on their tongues.
brazilian otter
Even the otters here are gigantic. These 2-meter animals prey on fish and crabs. However, strength is in numbers: straying into flocks, they kill adult anacondas and even caimans. If for these creatures, which are called river wolves, it is not a problem to kill such strong animals, then people for them are just a snack.
Common vandellia (Brazilian vampire)
Small individuals enter the human body through the anus, vaginal opening and even through the penis. Having settled inside the body, they can cause hellish pain. The poor fellows, who have felt such torment, pray to doctors for salvation.
bull sharks
Such cute little animals most often live in salty ocean water. Unfortunately, sometimes they swim into fresh waters and terrify the locals. Their jaws provide a bite force of 589 kilograms. After meeting with them, usually no one survived.
electric eels
I wouldn't recommend taking these babies. Two-meter eels can hit the victim with a charge of up to 600 volts. And this, by the way, is almost 3 times more than in your outlet. It seems like a killer tension, but it's not.
It's not the discharge that kills. The victim simply stops breathing from the pain shock, and she drowns in the water.
common piranha
These little critters often feature in Hollywood horror movies. And it's not without reason that they have gained fame as ruthless killers. The sharp teeth of these fish close and tear the flesh to shreds.
It is noteworthy that piranhas are scavengers. But they do not disdain to eat fresh meat.
Mackerel hydrolic
These underwater bloodsuckers have truly vampire fangs. Only these fangs are found on the lower jaw of hydrolytics. The victim is impaled on them, as if on a stake, and can no longer escape anywhere. There are even special holes in the palate of hydrolics to hide such long fangs.
brown pacu
These fish with human smiles are relatives of the piranhas mentioned earlier. Although the pacu prefer fruits and nuts, they are not averse to biting someone. There were cases when these stupid fish literally gnawed off the testicles of men swimming naked. I would never want to be in their place.
The beautiful and majestic Amazon is fraught with many dangers. It attracts lovers of extreme recreation, who pay for the experience with their health and even life.
The giant arapaima is one of the largest and least studied fish in the world. Those descriptions of fish that are found in the literature are borrowed mainly from the unreliable stories of travelers.
It is even strange how little has been done so far to deepen our knowledge of the biology and behavior of the arapaima. For years, it has been hunted mercilessly both in the Peruvian and Brazilian parts of the Amazon, and in its many tributaries. At the same time, no one cared about studying it and did not think about preserving it. Schools of fish seemed inexhaustible. And only when the number of fish began to noticeably decrease, interest in it appeared.
Arapaima is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. Representatives of this species live in the Amazon in Brazil, Guyana and Peru. Adults reach 2.5 m in length and weigh up to 200 kg. The uniqueness of the arapaima is the ability to breathe air. Due to their archaic morphology, the fish is considered a living fossil. In Brazil, fishing is allowed only once a year. Initially, the fish was harvested with the help of harpoons when it rose to breathe on the surface.
Today it is caught mainly with nets. Let's take a look at this in more detail..
Photo: View of the Amazon River from the window of the Cessna 208 amphibious aircraft that brought photographer Bruno Kelly from Manaus to the village of Medio Jurua, municipality of Carauari, Amazonas State, Brazil, on September 3, 2012.
In Brazil, giant fish have been placed in ponds in the hope that they will take root there. In eastern Peru, in the jungles of the province of Loreto, certain areas of rivers and a number of lakes are left as a reserve fund. It is allowed to fish here only under the license of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Arapaima lives throughout the Amazon basin. To the east, it occurs in two areas separated by the black and acidic waters of the Rio Negro. Arapaima is not found in Rio Negro, but the river, apparently, is not an insurmountable barrier for fish. Otherwise, one would have to assume the existence of two species of fish, having different origins and living north and south of this river.
The western distribution area of \u200b\u200bthe arapaima is probably Rio Morona, to the east of it, Rio Pastaza and Lake Rimachi, where a huge amount of fish is found. This is the second protected reservoir in Peru for breeding and observing arapaima.
The adult arapaima is painted very picturesquely: the color of its back changes from bluish-black to metallic green, the belly - from cream to greenish-white, the sides and tail are silver-gray. Each of its huge scales shimmers with all sorts of shades of red (in Brazil, the fish is called pirarucu, which means red fish).
Swinging in time with the movements of the fishermen, a small canoe floated along the mirror-like surface of the Amazon. Suddenly, the water at the bow of the boat began to swirl, the mouth of a giant fish stuck out, exhaling air with a whistle. The fishermen stared dumbfounded at the monster two human heights long, covered with a scaly shell. And the giant splashed his blood-red tail - and disappeared into the depths ...
Tell such a Russian fisherman, he will immediately be ridiculed. Who is not familiar with fishing tales: either a giant fish will fall off the hook, or the local Nessie will be seen. But on the Amazon, meeting a giant is a reality.
Arapaima is one of the largest freshwater fish. There were specimens 4.5 m long! Now you don't see them. Since 1978, the record of the Rio Negro River (Brazil) has been held, where arapaima was caught with data of 2.48 m - 147 kg (the price of a kilogram of tender and tasty meat, which has almost no bones, far exceeds the monthly income of Amazonian fishermen. In North America, it can be seen in antique shops).
This strange creature looks like a representative of the era of dinosaurs. Yes, it is true: a living fossil has not changed in 135 million years. Tropical Goliath has adapted to the marshy swamps of the Amazon basin: the bladder attached to the esophagus acts as a lung, the arapaima protrudes from the water every 10-15 minutes. She, as it were, “patrols” the Amazon basin, captures small fish in her mouth and grinds them with the help of a bony, rough tongue (locals use it as sandpaper).
These giants live in the freshwater reservoirs of South America, in particular in the eastern and western parts of the Amazon basin (in the Rio Morona, Rio Pastaza and Lake Rimachi rivers). In these places there is a huge number of arapaima. In the Amazon itself, this fish is not so much, because. she prefers quiet streams with a weak current and a lot of vegetation. A pond with indented banks and a large number of floating plants is the ideal place for its habitat and existence.
According to local residents, this fish can reach 4 meters in length and weigh about 200 kilograms. But arapaima is a valuable commercial fish, so now you can hardly find such huge specimens in nature. In our time, most often come across specimens no more than 2-2.5 meters. But still, giants can be found, for example, in special aquariums or reserves.
Previously, arapaima were caught in large quantities and did not think about its population. Now, when the stocks of these fish have noticeably decreased, in some countries of South America, for example, in eastern Peru, areas of rivers and lakes have been identified that are strictly protected and fishing in these places is allowed only under license from the Ministry of Agriculture. Yes, but in limited quantities.
An adult can reach 3-4 meters. The powerful body of the fish is covered with large scales, which shimmer with various shades of red. This is especially noticeable in its tail. For this, the locals gave the fish another name - piraruku, which translates as "red fish". The fish themselves have a different color - from "green metallic" to bluish-black.
Her respiratory system is very unusual. The pharynx and swim bladder of the fish are covered with lung tissue, which allows the fish to breathe normal air. Such an adaptation has developed due to the low oxygen content in the waters of these freshwater rivers. Thanks to this, arapaima can easily survive the drought.
You can't confuse the breathing pattern of this fish with anyone else. When they rise to the surface for a breath of fresh air, small whirlpools begin to form on the water surface, and then the fish itself appears at this place with a huge open mouth. All this action lasts just a couple of seconds. She releases the "old" air and takes a new sip, her mouth abruptly closes and goes into the depths. Adults breathe like this every 10-15 minutes, young ones a little more often.
On the head of these fish are special glands that secrete a special mucus. But what it is for, you will find out a little later.
These giants feed on bottom fish, sometimes they can eat small animals, such as birds. In juveniles, freshwater shrimp are the main dish.
The breeding season for pyrarucu is in November. But they begin to create pairs already in August-September. These giants are very caring parents, especially males. Then I immediately remembered how the male "sea dragons" take care of their offspring. These fish are not far behind. The male digs a shallow hole with a diameter of about 50 centimeters near the shore. The female lays her eggs in it. Then, throughout the entire period of development and maturation of eggs, the male is next to the clutch. He guards the eggs and swims near the "nest", while the females at this time drive away the fish swimming nearby.
A week later, fry are born. The male is also next to them. Or maybe they are with him? The young are kept in a dense flock near his head, and even to breathe they rise together. But how does a male manage to discipline his kids like that? There is a secret. Remember, I mentioned special glands on the head of adults. So, the mucus that is secreted by these glands contains a stable substance that attracts fry. It is what makes them stick together. But after 2.5-3 months, when the young grow up a little, these flocks break up. The bond between parents and children is weakening.
Once the meat of these monsters was the staple food of the peoples of the Amazon. Since the late 1960s, in many rivers, arapaims have disappeared completely: after all, only large fish were killed with a harpoon, while the nets also made it possible to catch babies. The government has banned the sale of arapaime less than a meter and a half long, but the taste, which only trout and salmon can compete with, pushes people to break the law. Arapaima breeding in artificial pools with heated water is promising: they grow as much as five times faster than carps!
However, here is the opinion of K. X. Lyuling:
The literature of past years greatly exaggerates the size of the arapaima. To some extent, these exaggerations began with the descriptions of R. Schomburk in the book Fishes of British Guiana, written after a trip to Guiana in 1836. Schomburk writes that fish can reach a length of 14 feet (foot = 0.305 meters) and weigh up to 400 pounds (pound = 0.454 kilograms). However, this information was obtained by the author secondhand - from the words of the local population - he personally did not have evidence to confirm such data. In a well-known book on the fish of the world, McCormick expresses doubts about the authenticity of these stories. After reviewing all available and more or less reliable information, he concludes that members of the arapaima species never exceed 9 feet in length, a fairly substantial size for a freshwater fish.
My own experience convinced me that McCormick was right. The animals we caught in Rio Pacay averaged 6 feet in length. The largest fish was a female 7 feet long and weighing 300 pounds. Obviously, the illustration from the old editions of Brehm's Animal Life, which depicted an Indian sitting on the back of a pyrarucu, 12 to 15 feet long, should be considered sheer fantasy.
The distribution of arapaima in certain areas of the river apparently depends more on the vegetation growing there than on the nature of the water itself. For fish, a heavily indented coast with a wide strip of coastal floating plants is needed, which, intertwined, form floating meadows.
For this reason alone, fast-flowing rivers like the Amazon are unsuitable for the existence of the Arapaima. The bottom of the Amazon always remains smooth and uniform, so there are few floating plants, the ones that are usually tangled among shrubs and hanging branches.
On Rio Pacai we found arapaima in backwaters, where, in addition to floating meadows of aquatic grasses, floating mimosas and hyacinths grew. In other places, these species may have been replaced by floating ferns, victoria-regia, and some others. The giant fish is invisible between the plants.
It is perhaps not surprising that arapaims prefer to breathe air rather than the oxygen of the swampy waters in which they live.
Arapaima's manner of inhaling air is very characteristic. When a large fish approaches the surface, a whirlpool first forms on the surface of the water. Then suddenly the fish itself appears with its mouth open. She quickly releases air, making a clicking sound, inhales fresh air and immediately sinks into the depths.
According to the whirlpool formed on the surface of the water, fishermen hunting for arapaima determine where to throw the harpoon. They throw their heavy weapons right into the middle of the whirlpool and most of the time they miss their target. But the fact is that a giant fish often lives in small reservoirs, 60-140 meters long, and whirlpools are constantly formed here, and therefore, the likelihood of a harpoon hitting an animal increases. Adults appear on the surface every 10-15 minutes, young ones more often.
Having reached a certain size, arapaima moves to the fish table, specializing mainly in bottom armored fish. In the stomachs of arapaima, the prickly needles of the pectoral fins of these fish are most often found.
In Rio Pakai, obviously, the conditions for the life of arapaima are the most favorable. The fish living here reach maturity within four to five years. By this time they are about six feet long and weigh between 80 and 100 pounds. It is believed (although not proven) that some, and possibly all, adults breed twice a year.
Once I was lucky enough to watch a pair of arapimes preparing to spawn. Everything happened in the clear and still waters of the quiet bay of Rio Pakai. The behavior of arapaima during spawning and their further care for offspring is truly an amazing sight.
In all likelihood, the spawning hole in the soft clay bottom of the fish is pulled out by mouth. In the quiet bay where we made our observations, the fish chose to spawn at a depth of only five feet below the surface. For several days, the male was within this place, and the female almost all the time kept 10-15 meters from him.
The young, hatched from the eggs, remain in the hole for about seven days. Next to them is constantly a male, either circling over the hole, or perched on the side. After that, the fry rise to the surface, relentlessly following the male and keeping in a dense flock near his head. Under the supervision of the father, the whole flock floats to the surface at once to inhale the air-Spirit.
At the age of seven to eight days, the fry begin to feed on plankton. Watching the fish through the still waters of our quiet bay, we did not notice that the fish were rearing young growth "in vtu", that is, they would take the fish in their mouths in a moment of danger. There were also no signs that the larvae feed on a substance secreted from the platelike gills located on the heads of the parents. The local population makes a clear mistake, assuming that the young are fed by parental "milk".
In November 1959, I was able to count 11 schools of young fish in a lake of about 160 acres (an acre is about 0.4 hectares). They swam close to the shore and parallel to it. The flocks seemed to avoid the wind. This is probably due to the fact that the waves formed by the wind make it difficult to inhale air from the surface of the water.
We decided to see what would happen to a flock of fish if it suddenly lost its parents, and caught them. The orphaned fish, having lost contact with their parents, obviously lost contact with each other. The tight flock began to disintegrate and eventually dispersed. After some time, we noticed that the juveniles in other flocks differ significantly from each other in size. Such a large contrast could hardly be explained by the fact that the same generation of fish developed differently. Apparently, other Arapaima adopted orphans. Expanding the circle of swimming after the death of their parents, the orphaned flock of fish spontaneously mixed with neighboring groups.
On the head of the arapaima there are glands of a very interesting structure. Outside, they have a number of small, tongue-like protrusions, at the ends of which, with a magnifying glass, tiny holes can be discerned. Through these openings, the mucus formed in the glands is excreted.
The secretion of these glands is not used as food, although this would seem to be the simplest and most obvious explanation for its purpose. It performs much more important functions. Here is an example. When we pulled the male out of the water, the flock accompanying him remained for a long time in the very place from which he had disappeared. And one more thing: a flock of juveniles gathers around a gauze pad, previously soaked in the secretions of the male. From both examples, it follows that the male secretes a relatively stable substance, thanks to which the whole group is held together.
At the age of two and a half - three and a half months, flocks of young animals begin to disintegrate. By this time, the bond between parents and children is weakening.
Residents of the village of Medio Jurua display gutted piraruca at Lake Manaria, Carauari municipality, Amazonas state, Brazil, on September 3, 2012. Piraruku is the largest freshwater fish in South America.
While fishing in the net of the inhabitants of the village of Medio Jurua, a caiman was caught. Villagers fishing for piraruca on Lake Manaria, Carauari Municipality, Amazonas State, Brazil, on September 3, 2012. Piraruku is the largest freshwater fish in South America.
The Amazon Basin is not without reason considered one of the most dangerous places in the world, home to a huge number of predators. I invite you to find out what is found in the waters of the Amazon, and why this place is considered so life-threatening.
black caiman
We can say that this is an alligator on steroids, their muscles are much larger, and they can grow up to six meters in length. These are undoubtedly the top predators of the Amazon River, local kings who indiscriminately eat anyone who comes across their path.
Anaconda
2
Another giant monster of the Amazon is the well-known anaconda, the largest snake in the world. The weight of a female anaconda can reach 250 kilograms, and this is with a length of 9 meters and a diameter of 30 centimeters. These predators prefer shallow water, so most often they can be found not in the river itself, but in its branches.
Arapaima
3
The huge arapaima predator is equipped with armored scales, so it fearlessly swims among piranhas, eating fish and birds. The length of these terrible fish is almost three meters, and the weight is 90 kilograms.
brazilian otter
4
Brazilian otters grow up to 2 meters in length and feed mainly on fish and crabs. However, the fact that they always hunt in large groups allows them to successfully get more serious prey: there were cases when these harmless-looking creatures killed and ate adult anacondas and even caimans. No wonder they are called "river wolves".
Common vandellia or candiru
5
bull shark
6
Most often, bull sharks live in the salty waters of the ocean, but they feel just as great in fresh water. There were cases when these bloodthirsty predators swam so far along the Amazon that they reached the city of Iquitos (Peru), located almost 4 thousand kilometers from the sea. Considering that sharp teeth and powerful jaws provide these 3-meter-long creatures with a bite force of 589 kilograms, you definitely would not want to meet them, but they are not averse to feasting on a person!
electric eels
7
We would not advise you to approach them in any case: two-meter creatures are capable of generating electrical discharges with a voltage of up to 600 volts. And this is 5 times the current in an American outlet and enough to easily knock a horse down. Repeated strikes by these creatures can lead to heart or respiratory failure, causing people to lose consciousness and simply drown in the water.
common piranha
8
It is difficult to imagine more terrible and ferocious creatures, this is the real quintessence of the horror of the Amazon River. We all know that the sharp teeth of these fish have repeatedly inspired Hollywood directors to create creepy films. However, in fairness, it is worth noting that piranhas are primarily scavengers. But, unfortunately, this does not mean at all that they do not attack healthy creatures. Their incredibly sharp teeth, located on the upper and lower jaws, close very tightly, which makes them an ideal tool for tearing flesh.
Mackerel hydrolic
9
These meter-long underwater inhabitants were also called vampire fish. On the lower jaw they have two sharp fangs that can grow up to 15 centimeters. They use these devices to literally impale the victim on them after they rush at it. The fangs of these fish are so large that nature had to take care of the safety of the hydrolics themselves. So that they do not pierce themselves with them, they have special holes in the upper jaw.
brown pacu
10
A fish with human teeth, the brown pacu is a larger relative of the piranha. True, unlike the latter, these freshwater prefer fruits and nuts, although they are generally considered omnivores. The problem is that "stupid" Pacu can't tell the difference between tree nuts and male genitalia, which has left some male swimmers without testicles.
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