Monsters living in the Amazon. The mysterious scary monster of the Amazon - myth or reality
The depths of the Amazon hide things that modern horror directors have never dreamed of.
A huge closed ecosystem, which is essentially the entire basin great river, as if specially populated by incredibly tenacious, incredibly dangerous and incredibly bloodthirsty creatures, an encounter with which for a person can only end in one outcome.
Black caiman
Most big predator throughout the Amazon basin. The black caiman grows up to five meters long and can weigh half a ton. Natural born killers are the so-called apex predators - that is, capable of killing and devouring any animal in their habitat. 
Anaconda
The meeting between man and anaconda will be the last. The nine-meter snake swims well and is even capable of diving. An adult anaconda has practically no enemies in nature, unless it comes across a black caiman on a narrow path, and such cases have actually happened. 
Brazilian arapaima
Tropical freshwater fish, one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. This predator feeds not only on fish, but also on small animals that come to drink. 
Snout shark
No, not because she’s stupid - it’s just the shape of their face. The blunt-nosed shark, or bull shark, is usually found in coastal waters and happily makes its way into rivers. This is one of the most aggressive species sharks that attack people without hesitation.
Electric eel
Perhaps one of the strangest creatures on our planet. Special electrical organs allow eels to generate voltages of up to 1300 V. A sort of floating bare wire, with a positive charge on the face and a negative charge in the tail. With one blow, an eel can stun a horse, but a human heart will simply stop forever. 
Brown pacu
You could say that the pacu is a cousin of the piranha. But their teeth are square and resemble human ones. For what? Yes, to tear off larger pieces of meat from the victim.
Giant otter
The cute animal, weighing thirty kilograms, is not very timid, unlike its European relatives. You shouldn’t approach a giant otter for a joint selfie, you might end up without fingers. Local residents nicknamed the otters “river wolves”: gathering in real packs, they boldly attack larger predators. 
Kandiru
Another name is the Brazilian vampire. The tiny catfish usually parasitizes other fish, crawling into the gills and drinking blood there. But she absolutely doesn’t care who the victim will be and which hole she will swim into. Thanks to Kandir, smart people in the Amazon never relieve themselves. Can you guess why?
It is not without reason that the Amazon River basin is considered one of the most... dangerous places in a world where there are 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 dangerous for life.
Black caiman
You could say 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 apex predators of the Amazon River, the local kings who indiscriminately eat anyone who gets in their way.
Anaconda
2
One more giant monster 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 9-meter length and a diameter of 30 centimeters. These predators prefer shallow waters, so most often they can be found not in the river itself, but in its branches.
Arapaima
3
The huge predator arapaima is equipped with armored scales, so it fearlessly swims among piranhas, feeding on fish and birds. These creepy fish are almost three meters long and weigh 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 obtain more serious prey: there have been cases when these harmless-looking creatures killed and ate adult anacondas and even caimans. It’s not for nothing that they were nicknamed “river wolves.”
Common vandellia or candiru
5
Bull shark
6
Most often, bull sharks live in salty ocean waters, but they feel just as great in fresh water bodies. 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 creatures with a bite force of 589 kilograms, you definitely wouldn’t want to meet them, but they are not averse to feasting on humans!
Electric eels
7
We would not advise you to approach them under any circumstances: two-meter creatures are capable of generating electrical discharges with voltages of up to 600 volts. And this is 5 times the current power in an American outlet and is enough to easily knock down a horse. Repeated blows from these creatures can lead to cardiac or respiratory failure, causing people to lose consciousness and simply drown in the water.
Common piranhas
8
It’s hard to even 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 more than once inspired Hollywood directors to create creepy movies. However, in fairness, it is worth noting that piranhas are primarily scavengers. But, unfortunately, this does not mean that they do not attack healthy creatures. Their incredibly sharp teeth, located on the upper and lower jaws, meet very tightly, making them an ideal weapon for tearing flesh.
Mackerel hydrolic
9
These meter underwater inhabitants 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. To prevent them from piercing themselves, they have special holes in their upper jaw.
Brown pacu
10
Fish with human teeth, the brown pacu, is a larger relative of the piranha. True, unlike the latter, these freshwater animals prefer fruits and nuts, although in general they are considered omnivores. The problem is that the "stupid" pacu are unable to distinguish nuts that fall from trees from male genitalia, which has left some male swimmers without testicles.
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 living in this river.
Black caiman
This is the hunk of the alligator world. 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 Amazons who will tear to shreds anyone who falls into their huge jaws.
Anaconda
Another huge predator that lives in local waters is the anaconda. This is the world's largest snake, 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 able to escape. These monsters love shallow water, so most spend time in the tributaries of the river.
Arapaima
These giants have armored scales, so they don’t even care about piranhas. Arapaima hunt mainly for smaller fish and birds, but they are not averse to eating human flesh. The 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 hunt fish and crabs. However, there is strength in numbers: when they gather in 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 humans are just a snack for them.
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 local residents. Their jaws provide a bite force of 589 kilograms. After meeting with them, usually no one survived.
Electric eels
I would not recommend picking up these babies. Two-meter eels can strike victims 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 painful shock and drowns in the water.
Common piranhas
These little creatures often appear in Hollywood horror films. And it’s not without reason that they gained fame ruthless killers. The sharp teeth of these fish close together and tear the flesh to shreds.
It is noteworthy that piranhas are scavengers. But they do not hesitate to enjoy fresh meat.
Mackerel hydrolic
These underwater bloodsuckers have truly vampire fangs. Only these fangs are located on the lower jaw of hydrolics. The victim is impaled on them like a stake, and can no longer escape anywhere. There are even special holes in the palate of hydroliks to hide such long fangs.
Brown pacu
These fish with human smiles are relatives of the previously mentioned piranhas. Although pacu prefer fruits and nuts, they are not averse to biting someone. There have been cases when these stupid fish literally chewed 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 their lives.
The giant arapaima is one of the largest and most little-studied fish in the world. Those descriptions of fish that are found in the literature are borrowed mainly from unreliable stories of travelers.
It’s even strange how little has been done so far to deepen our knowledge of the biology and behavior of the arapaima. For years it was mercilessly fished 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 or thought about preserving it. The schools of fish seemed inexhaustible. And only when the number of fish began to noticeably decrease did interest in it appear.
Arapaima is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. Representatives of this species live in the Amazon River basin in Brazil, Guyana and Peru. Adults reach 2.5 m in length and weigh up to 200 kg. The uniqueness of arapaima is its ability to breathe air. Due to its archaic morphology, the fish is considered a living fossil. In Brazil, its fishing is allowed only once a year. Initially, fish were caught using harpoons when they rose to breathe on the surface.
Today it is caught mainly with nets. Let's look at this in more detail..
In the photo: a 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, September 3, 2012.
In Brazil, giant fish were placed in ponds in the hope that they would take root there. In eastern Peru, in the jungles of Loreto province, certain areas of rivers and a number of lakes are left as a reserve fund. Fishing here is allowed only with a license from the ministry. Agriculture.
Arapaima lives throughout the Amazon basin. To the east it is found in two areas separated by the black and acidic waters of the Rio Negro. There are no arapaima in the Rio Negro, but the river does not seem to be an insurmountable barrier for the fish. Otherwise, one would have to assume the existence of two species of fish, having different origins and those living north and south of this river.
The western area of distribution of the arapaima is probably Rio Moro, to the east of it is Rio Pastaza and Lake Rimachi, where a huge amount of fish is found. This is Peru's second protected breeding and observation pond for arapaima.
An adult arapaima is colored very picturesquely: the color of its back varies from bluish-black to metallic green, its belly - from cream to greenish-white, its sides and tail are silver-gray. Each of its huge scales shimmers in every possible shade of red (in Brazil the fish is called pirarucu, which means red fish).
Rocking 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 like a whirlpool, and the mouth of a giant fish stuck out, exhaling air with a whistle. The fishermen looked in shock at the monster, twice the height of a man, covered with a scaly shell. And the giant splashed his blood-red tail - and disappeared into the depths...
If a Russian fisherman told such a thing, he would immediately be laughed at. Who is not familiar with fishing tales: either a giant fish falls off a hook, or the local Nessie appears in your dreams. But in the Amazon, meeting a giant is a reality.
Arapaima is one of the largest freshwater fish. There were specimens 4.5 m long! Nowadays you don't see such people. Since 1978, the record has been held in the Rio Negro River (Brazil), where an arapaima was caught with data of 2.48 m - 147 kg (the price of a kilogram of tender and delicious meat, which has almost no bones, far exceeds the monthly income of Amazonian fishermen. IN North America it can be seen in antique stores).
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. The tropical Goliath has adapted to the swampy swamps of the Amazon basin: a bladder attached to the esophagus acts like a lung, the arapaima pokes out of the water every 10-15 minutes. She, as it were, “patrolls” the Amazon basin, captures small fish in her mouth and grinds them with the help of a bony, rough tongue ( local residents use it as sandpaper).
These giants live in freshwater bodies South America, in particular in the eastern and western parts of the Amazon River basin (in the Rio Moro, Rio Pastaza and Lake Rimachi rivers). A huge number of arapaima are found in these places. There is not much of this fish in the Amazon itself, because... she prefers quiet rivers with a weak current and a lot of vegetation. A body of water with rugged banks and a large number of floating plants is an 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 valuable commercial fish, so now such huge specimens are practically impossible to find in nature. Nowadays, most often we come across specimens no more than 2-2.5 meters. But still giants can be found, for example, in special aquariums or nature reserves.
Previously, arapaima was 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, there are areas of rivers and lakes that are strictly protected and fishing in these places is allowed only with a license from the Ministry of Agriculture. And even then in limited quantities.
An adult can reach 3-4 meters. The powerful body of the fish is covered with large scales that shimmer various shades red This is especially noticeable in its tail part. For this, local residents gave the fish another name - pirarucu, which translates as “red fish”. The fish themselves have different colors - from “metallic green” to bluish-black.
Hers is very unusual respiratory system. The pharynx and swim bladder of the fish are covered with lung tissue, which allows the fish to breathe normal air. This adaptation has developed due to the low oxygen content in the waters of these freshwater rivers. Thanks to this, arapaima can easily survive drought.
The breathing style of this fish cannot be confused 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 in this place with a huge open mouth. All this action lasts literally a couple of seconds. She releases the “old” air and takes a new sip, her mouth suddenly closes and goes into the depths. Adults breathe like this every 10-15 minutes, young ones - a little more often.
These fish have special glands on their heads that secrete special mucus. But you’ll find out what it’s for a little later.
These giants feed on bottom fish, and sometimes they can snack on small animals, such as birds. For juveniles, the main dish is freshwater shrimp.
The breeding season of pirarucu occurs in November. But they begin to create pairs already in August-September. These giants are very caring parents, especially males. Here I immediately remembered how male “sea dragons” take care of their offspring. These fish are not far behind them. The male digs a shallow hole with a diameter of about 50 centimeters near the shore. The female lays eggs in it. Then, throughout the entire period of development and maturation of the eggs, the male remains next to the clutch. He guards the eggs and swims next to the “nest,” while the females drive away the fish swimming nearby.
A week later the fry are born. The male is still next to them. Or maybe they are with him? The young stay in a dense flock near his head, and they even rise together to breathe. But how does a male manage to discipline his children like that? There is a secret. Remember, I mentioned special glands on the heads of adults. So, the mucus that is secreted by these glands contains a stable substance that attracts fry. This is what makes them stick together. But after 2.5-3 months, when the young animals grow a little, these flocks break up. The bond between parents and children weakens.
Once upon a time, the meat of these monsters was the staple food of the peoples of the Amazon. Since the late 1960s, arapaima have disappeared completely in many rivers: after all, only big fish, the nets made it possible to catch children too. The government has banned the sale of arapaima less than one and a half meters long, but the taste, which can only be rivaled by trout and salmon, pushes people to break the law. Breeding arapaima in artificial pools with heated water is promising: they grow as much as five times faster than carp!
However, here is the opinion of K. X. Luling:
The literature of past legions significantly exaggerates the size of the arapaima. These exaggerations began, to some extent, with the descriptions of R. Chaumbourk in the book “Fishes of British Guiana,” written after a trip to Guiana in 1836. Shom-Bourke writes that the fish can reach a length of 14 feet (ft = 0.305 meters) and weigh up to 400 pounds (pound = 0.454 kilograms). However, this information was received by the author second-hand - from the words of the local population - he personally did not have evidence to support such data. In a well-known book on the fishes of the world, McCormick expresses doubts about the reliability of these stories. After analyzing all the available and more or less reliable information, he comes to the conclusion that representatives of the arapaima species never exceed a length of 9 feet - a fairly respectable size for a freshwater fish.
On own experience I was convinced that McCormick was right. The animals we caught in Rio Pacaya averaged 6 feet in length. Most big fish turned out to be a female 7 feet long and weighing 300 pounds. Obviously, the illustration from old editions of Brem's book Animal Life, which depicted an Indian sitting on the back of a pirarucu, 12 to 15 feet long, should be considered an obvious fantasy.
The distribution of arapaima in certain areas of the river seems to depend more on the vegetation growing there than on the nature of the water itself. For fish, a strongly indented shore with a wide strip of coastal floating plants, which, intertwined, form floating meadows, is necessary.
For this reason alone, rivers with fast current, like the Amazon, are unsuitable for the existence of arapaima. The bottom of the Amazon always remains smooth and uniform, so there are few floating plants here; those that exist are usually tangled among bushes and hanging branches.
On Rio Pacaya we found arapaima in backwaters where, in addition to floating meadows of aquatic grasses, floating mimosas and hyacinths grew. Elsewhere these species may have been replaced by floating ferns, Victoria regia and a few others. The giant fish between the plants is invisible.
It is perhaps not surprising that arapaima prefer to breathe air rather than the oxygen of the swampy waters in which they live.
The arapaima's way of inhaling air is very characteristic. When a large fish approaches the surface, a whirlpool first forms on the water surface. Then suddenly the fish itself appears with open mouth. She quickly releases air, making a clicking sound, and inhales Fresh air and immediately plunges into the depths.
Fishermen hunting for arapaima use the whirlpool that forms on the surface of the water to determine where to throw the harpoon. They throw theirs heavy weapon right in the middle of the whirlpool and in most cases they miss the target. But the point is that giant fish often lives in small bodies of water, 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 switches to the fish table, specializing mainly in bottom-shelled fish. The stomachs of arapaima most often contain barbed needles. pectoral fins these fish.
In Rio Pacaya, obviously, the living conditions for the Arapaima are the most favorable. The fish that live here reach maturity within four to five years. By this time, they are approximately six feet long and weigh between 80 and 100 pounds. It is believed (although not proven) that some, and perhaps all, adults breed twice a year.
One day I was lucky enough to observe a pair of arapaima preparing for spawning. Everything happened in the clear and still waters of the quiet bay of Rio Pacai. The behavior of arapaima during spawning and their subsequent care of the offspring is truly an amazing sight.
In all likelihood, the fish dig out the spawning hole in the soft clay bottom with its mouth. In the quiet bay where we made observations, the fish chose a spawning site located only five feet below the surface. For several days the male remained within this place, and the female almost all the time stayed 10-15 meters away from him.
The young, having hatched from the eggs, remain in the hole for about seven days. A male is always near them, either circling above the hole or perched on the side. After this, 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 entire flock rises to the surface at once to inhale the air.
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 raised their young “into the mouth”, that is, they would take the fish into their mouths in a moment of danger. There was also no evidence that the larvae fed on the substance secreted from the plate-shaped gills located on the heads of the parents. The local population makes a clear mistake in assuming that the young animals feed on their parents’ “milk”.
In November 1959, I was able to count 11 schools of juvenile 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 be avoiding the wind. This is probably due to the fact that the waves generated by the wind make it difficult to inhale air from the surface of the water.
We decided to see what would happen to a school of fish if it suddenly lost its parents, and we caught them. The orphaned fish, having lost contact with their parents, have obviously lost contact with each other. The close flock began to break up and eventually dispersed. After some time, we noticed that the juveniles in other flocks differed 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 the orphans. Expanding their swimming circle after the death of their parents, the orphaned school of fish spontaneously mixed with neighboring groups.
On the head of the arapaima there are glands very interesting structure. On the outside, they have a whole series of small tongue-like protrusions, at the ends of which, with the help of a magnifying glass, tiny holes can be discerned. The mucus formed in the glands is released through these openings.
The secretion of these glands is not used as food, although it would seem that this is the simplest and most obvious explanation of its purpose. She does much more important functions. Here's an example. When we pulled the male out of the water, the flock accompanying him for a long time remained in the very place from which he disappeared. And one more thing: a flock of juveniles gathers around a gauze pad, previously soaked in the male’s secretions. From both examples it follows that the male secretes a relatively stable substance, thanks to which the whole group stays together.
At the age of two and a half to three and a half months, flocks of young animals begin to disintegrate. By this time, the connection between parents and children weakens.
Residents of the village of Medio Jurua display a gutted piraruca at Lake Manaria, Carauari municipality, Amazonas state, Brazil, September 3, 2012. Piraruku is the largest freshwater fish South America.
While fishing, residents of the village of Medio Jurua caught a caiman in a net. Villagers go fishing for pirarucu on Lake Manaria, Carauari municipality, Amazonas state, Brazil, September 3, 2012. Pirarucu is the largest freshwater fish in South America.
