Number 9: Muskellunge Also known as “Muskies,” these fish prove
that you don’t need to be in the vast ocean to encounter dangerous water-dwellers capable
of pulling you to certain doom beneath the waves. Kim Driver was out for a relaxing swim
in the Winnipeg River when she felt a terrible pain shooting up her leg. Glancing down, Kim’s
worst fears were confirmed. The creature was part alligator, part fish, and all nightmare
fuel! Muskies are native to the Great Lakes and rivers of North America, and they can
swell to outrageous sizes, sometimes stretching up to a full six feet and weighing up to 50
pounds. For context, that’s the size of your average bulldog! Kim was lucky; she was
close enough to shore to escape the Muskellunge’s devilish grip, but she bears the scars of
her wicked watery encounter to this day. Next time you’re out for a tranquil swim in a
quiet Canadian river, remember to keep your wits about you. You might just look like appealing
prey to a vicious Muskellunge! Number 8: Needlefish
Next time you think you’re having a bad day, remember the wild tale of Muhammad Idul,
an Indonesian teen who barely escaped death after being impaled by a Needlefish. Muhammad
was out for a routine day of fishing with his pops when the Needlefish inexplicitly
leaped out of the water and skewered the 16-year-old’s head on its bony snout. The freak accident
made global headlines and is genuinely the stuff of maritime nightmares. Although Muhammad
made a full recovery, we certainly won’t blame him if he’s a little gun shy of dipping
his toes back into the water. The craziest part is; it could absolutely happen again-
and probably will. Needlefish get their name from a solid spike of a jaw, studded with
tons of razor-sharp teeth. These fearsome fish are deadly athletes, too, capable of
jumping out of the water at an astounding 37 miles per hour. Where will they land? Who
knows!
Number 7: Snakehead If you ever find yourself in Southeast Asia,
beware of the Snakehead fish. As the name suggests, this creature is part fish, part
snake, and all attitude. It’s one of the crankiest fish in the world, and it stretches
a full six feet long. These giant brutes are freshwater dwellers, making them yet another
reason to not take a refreshing dip in rivers or lakes in Thailand. They are also scary
smart and love to wreak havoc everywhere they go. Their big brains make them apex predators,
and they slaughter for sport as well as food, making them into one of the world’s only
animal spree killers. To kill, the Snakehead will use its unique form to contort itself
into an S-shape before using the momentum to push it’s head forward for a death blow.
Since their mouths are full of rows of pointy teeth, prey don’t stand a chance at the
fins of this fish! Fish aren’t the only targets of the sadistic Snakehead. Fishermen
have gone toe to toe with this angry fish and have come away with their fair share of
lumps, some even forfeiting their lives to the giant predator. Humans do get the last
word, though, as these fish are a delicacy in Southeast Asia. Apparently, they taste
just like chicken!
Number 6: Lionfish Watch out for this deadly beauty. The Lionfish
is armed to the fins with some of the most vile venom imaginable, and they certainly
are not afraid to use it. Prey don’t stand a chance against this pretty predator, capable
of felling them with a single, toxic chomp. Lionfish lurk all over the tropical oceans,
and many humans have crossed paths with them near coral reefs or in the shallows. Although
Lionfish aren’t necessarily aggressive, they can react violently when surprised, pumping
their venom into anything or anyone that gets too close. Lionfish venom isn’t necessarily
deadly to humans, but it does hurt like hell to get stung, and you had better get out of
the ocean quickly to avoid a nasty infection. Those who don’t go to the hospital right
away are truly rolling the dice with their health. Untreated Lionfish stings can lead
to all sorts of cruel outcomes down the road, including paralysis or ongoing agony. Swim
wisely!
Number 5: Candiru These fish are the stuff of nightmares, and
we do not say that lightly. These tiny fish are only an inch long, maximum, but they prove
that the scariest things in the world often come in the smallest packages. Candiru are
the scourge of the Amazon River, and the urban legends swirling around these fish are enough
to make even the toughest person’s blood run ice cold. What Candiru love most in the
world are… your genitals. Yeah, That’s right. Be careful where you pee because a
Candiru could be gunning right for you. They’re attracted to urine and famous for swimming
up right to the source, which generally means lodging itself inside your urethra. Once it’s
there, Candiru don’t like to come out, and you will need to get to the closest Emergency
Room pronto if you want to have any hope of saving your twig and berries! Wait too long,
and the only solution is amputation! These feisty fish go by several names in their native
South America, like toothpick fish or vampire fish, but we like to call them by a more appropriate
name; the urine demon fiend of the Amazon!
Number 4: Great Barracuda Yes, Barracudas are technically fish, and
these bad boys are certainly not known for their bedside manner. The Great Barracuda
is known by the warm and fuzzy nickname “Tiger of the Sea,” and you can bet that it lives
up to it a million percent. This lengthy fish is one spine-chilling predator, capable of
stalking prey through the depths and attacking when you least expect it, and they grow to
crazy huge sizes. These apex hunters swell to a staggering 100 pounds, which is the size
of a baby hippo, or more accurately, a Hellfire Missile. You’d best believe that if you
ever see one of these monsters hanging out in the open sea that you need to get the hell
out of there. Not only are they huge, but they’re also territorial. Scuba divers and
snorkelers sometimes cross paths with these terrors, and some have lived to tell the tale.
One such diver came eye to eye with a Great Barracuda on Australia’s barrier reef, turning
a leisurely day of snorkeling into the fight of her life. She described how the Great Barracuda
covered seventy feet of ocean in mere seconds, racing towards her in a blur of teeth and
sheer muscle. She survived by poking the beast in the eyes and quickly making for the shore.
Others were not so lucky. Number 3: Red-Bellied Piranha
Of all of the animals that lurk in the Amazon, Piranhas are some of the most fearsome. Red-Bellied
Piranhas are especially vicious and can turn on a dime, becoming very aggressive and deadly
to any fish, animals, or humans nearby. In 2015, tragedy struck in Brazil when a six-year-old
girl was found partially consumed by the carnivorous fish. The tragic story unfolded after a child’s
canoe was overturned and she was lost to the river. Although Red-Bellied Piranhas usually
can’t kill you… usually… they can inflict a powerfully nasty bite. What’s more, where
there is one Piranha, there are almost always several, so you can certainly expect to be
latched upon by many bloodthirsty little fish before you make your getaway- hopefully...
Number 2: Stonefish Proof that Australia produces some of the
deadliest creatures on the planet, we give you the Stonefish. Unlike most venomous animals,
this creature doesn’t let its freak flag of colors fly. Instead, it’s a master of
disguise, melting into the surrounding sea and lying in wait until its prey happens to
come floating by. These creatures are absolutely horrifying. Not only can they very easily
be mistaken for rocks or parts of a reef, but their venom is fatal to people. If you
get stung, you had better hope that you’re near a hospital. In the best-case scenario,
you will only be in the worst pain of your life with a limb three times its normal size.
In the worst-case scenario- you’ll be dead. Stonefish venom is linked to paralysis and
heart failure, causing your organs to shut down one by one in a nightmarish betrayal
of your own body. The worst part? It will take you about an hour to die, making Stonefish
venom one of the most sadistic things in the ocean blue.
Number 1: Goonch Catfish Also known as the “Kali River Goonch,”
this ghoulish fish seems like the stuff of nightmares, but it’s as real as can be.
The Goonch is a giant catfish who discovered a taste for human flesh and then started seeking
it out, drowning and consuming unlucky victims during a twenty-year reign of terror. Since
the Kali River is used as a dumping site for bodies, it’s speculated that the enormous
fish developed a keen taste for people. The gristly Goonch Catfish is rumored to weigh
300 pounds or as much as a Giant Panda, and this watery executioner has precisely zero
fear of people. It’s been rumored to attack both deep in the river and along the riverbanks,
even pulling victims off the side of the banks to the horror of their onlooking families.
Many have tried to capture the elusive predator, but nobody has ever succeeded, and this bloodthirsty
fish still trawls the river waiting to strike.
Thanks for watching! Would you rather take a quick dip in the Kali River or swim with
starving Great White sharks? Let us know in the comments below.