From Brazil, through South Africa and up to the Solomon Islands, today we will make you discover 10 giant creatures discovered by chance.
You certainly know the Mekong, the fourth largest river in Asia. It flows through China, Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. What you may not know is that this majestic river hides one of the largest freshwater creatures. I bet you are dying to know more about this unusual creature. To do so, a trip is necessary! Direction then, the bottom of the Mekong, in Vietnam. You are on board a small boat, accompanied by a local fisherman. He leads you to the main channel of the river. Where the water depth is more than 10 meters. While you navigate, amazed by the splendor of the landscape, the fisherman speaks to you with enthusiasm about the national pride. Which is none other than the giant Mekong catfish. In his story, he tells you that this massive beast is the largest freshwater fish. He tells you that this one easily reaches three meters long for 300 kg. It is not that the nice fisherman annoys you, but after several hours in the water, you want to see for yourself this colossal fish. Unfortunately, your guide explains to you that this species is endangered, because of overfishing and the general quality of the water which is deteriorating. As a result, only a few lucky people will have the privilege to see a giant Mekong catfish in real life. Back home, you are disappointed, but you know more about this exceptional creature. And you also take the time to think about the harmful impact we have on such beautiful species.
In early 2020, when Nerida Wilson, a biologist oceanographer, joins her team of scientists on a routine expedition off Western Australia, she doesn’t expect to make history at all. She is in the observation cabin of her scientific vessel, her only wish is to come across a blue whale or a great shark in its natural environment. When she sees a strange creature that does not appear in any of her books. It is a kind of enormous rope in the shape of a luminous spiral, 119 meters long, floating in the depths of the ocean. Faced with this extraordinary discovery, she calls the whole team to come into the cabin. Everyone is amazed, Nerida has just discovered a new giant marine species. The team decides to name it siphonophore. This is how this young biologist, marks the history forever by discovering this curious specimen. The young scientist had to sacrifice several years of youth, dedicating them to long and difficult studies. But her work finally paid off, it is not every day that a new species is discovered. However, Nerida and his team are not about to rest, since they still have to study this incredible creature in more detail. Let’s hope that in the years to come, they will manage to find more information about this exceptional being.
Imagine you are a forest ranger in the Solomon Islands. You are enjoying the magnificent setting of this island chain, 1800 km from the Australian coast. All the while doing very important and rewarding work. What you want most is to ensure the prosperity of several unique species. Except that day in November 2015, during a routine round, you see a huge beast fall from a gigantic tree of more than 10 m. You rush to the spot, to try to help the poor beast and also out of curiosity. You have been in the Solomon Islands for years and this animal is unknown to you. Once at the foot of the tree, you notice that it is a huge rat, it is more than half a meter long, it is as big as an English Bulldog. This specimen has large pointed teeth and a long scaly tail. This discovery surprises you, but as a good forest ranger, what matters most to you is to help this poor dying animal. Unfortunately, this giant rat does not survive the fall. And with this death you feel that you have failed in your mission, but you decide anyway to recover the body and send it to the Queensland Museum. Thinking that the death of this animal should not be in vain and that it deserves to be known more about it. So a few weeks later, as you have resumed your normal life, the Queensland Institute contacts you to tell you that you are at the origin of the discovery of a species unknown until now. This rat called Vika, has long been part of local folklore, but no one believed in its existence, until your accidental discovery. Here is something to be proud of!
Who doesn’t like smoked or pickled herring? In any case, I love it and I’m sure you do too, especially to accompany your aperitif evenings with family or friends. If you are, therefore, such fervent fans of this fish salted to perfection, you will not be against more information on the giant oarfish. No doubt, now you are wondering what is the giant oarfish. Well, it is the king of herrings. It is far from the small 20 cm herring that you are used to taste. His majesty of herrings really deserves his name, since he is the longest of all living bony fish. It was first caught by chance in 1772 by the Norwegian biologist Peter Ascanius. The latter describes a fish of more than 17 m long for 272 kg, enough to make thousands of smoked fillets! You see, I was sure that the giant oarfish was going to delight you! Unfortunately, it is unlikely that you will ever come across the king of herrings. It is a very rare species, that only a few lucky people have been able to catch in the Adriatic Sea. And even then, they were only allowed to catch specimens not exceeding 3 meters. But at least you know now that such a species exists. And if one day you find yourself in the arm of the Mediterranean, in Italy, Croatia or Greece, you can look at the ocean licking your lips. Maybe your big appetite for smoked fish will attract the king of herrings!
You probably know Godzilla and Hogzilla, does that mean anything to you? Probably not! Hogzilla is composed of Hog and Godzilla and was created in 2004 in the state of Georgia in the United States. You are probably wondering: What did these Americans, always full of imagination, come up with? Think again Hogzilla, has nothing imaginary. Here is a picture of him. This picture is quite surprising and especially intriguing. But as I told you, this monster is real. It is a hybrid of a wild boar and a farmed pig. It is gigantic, measuring 3.7 m long and weighing 450 kg. This makes Hogzilla the largest of the domestic pigs and wild boars. He was shot and buried by hunter Chris Griffin, the man standing in the photo, on June 17, 2004. You see, it’s not all Fake News, in the images coming from Uncle Sam’s country. I have the impression, that you find this beast so monstrous, that you still doubt the veracity of this picture. And the fact that Chris Griffin buried the corpse, instead of stuffing it to keep the proof, only confirms you in your suspicions. Well! When the photo of Hogzilla was posted on the Internet in 2004 everyone thought it was a hoax, but National Geographic exhumed the body in 2005 and confirmed that Hogzilla does exist. Now that you know that Hogzilla’s existence is a fact, all you have to do is look for the National Geographic documentary that talks about this unusual animal in more detail.
This November 21, 2018, is an ordinary day for the fishermen of the small municipality of Balatan in the Philippines. Each of them boards his small boat, hoping to return in the evening with a good enough catch to support his family. They drop their nets in the open sea of the Gulf of Ragay, when they see a giant sea creature. They decide to all put their hands together to capture this sea monster. After a few hours, they succeeded. These fishermen captured a giant leatherback turtle. It weighs 500 kg and is 1.82 m long. It is the largest and rarest species of turtle on the planet. Fortunately, this find was immortalized with these beautiful pictures, before the fishermen escorted this majestic turtle in the ocean and recovered their nets full of fish. This November day was hard and more tiring than usual for our fishermen, but when they returned to Balatan in the evening, they were welcomed as heroes, as they offered an unforgettable show to the villagers.
Now here we are with a couple visiting Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa. When this couple decided to spend the day there, they surely wanted to observe the Big 7. Indeed, this park is the only one in the world to house elephants, black rhinos, lions, buffalos, leopards, great white sharks and whales in their natural habitat. Once inside this vast reserve, they get their money’s worth, as they manage to see almost all the animals they came for, except the elephant. They are now about to leave the park with a slight disappointment, when they find themselves face to face with one of the largest elephants in the world. A giant elephant, which seems to be easily twice the size of the minibus we see in these pictures. And its tusks alone are bigger than the couple’s windshield. It looks like a great end to the day for this couple!
This picture is of a very rare giant sunfish weighing 1200 kg, the equivalent of a car. This poor fish probably only wanted, to live peacefully in the open sea of the Russian coast of Iturup. But on this day in September 2017, he was caught in the nets of ruthless Russian fishermen. After many years of living in the shadows in the depths of the ocean, he now finds himself exposed in this harbor among the fishing vessels. For a brief moment, he recalls his long, peaceful life in the ocean, and eventually passes out in front of these cruel fishermen. Fortunately, he will not know the fate of his corpse. After having exposed it for more than a day in the harbor, the fishermen tear it apart and feed its rotten remains to bears. While such a rare and beautiful specimen should have been photographed and released into the ocean. The proof that human stupidity has no limits!
Albert Meek is a British naturalist who lived at the beginning of the last century. In his quest to find the most beautiful and extraordinary butterflies in the world, he spent more than two decades exploring the virgin forests of Papua New Guinea. It was during his years of exploration that he made the surprising discovery in 1906 of the Troides Alexandrae, commonly known as the Queen Alexandra butterfly. The largest butterfly in the world, with a wingspan that can reach 30 cm. But also one of the most beautiful, with its black thorax, its yellow abdomen and its wings decorated with iridescent blue-green and yellow.
Unfortunately, while trying to capture this giant butterfly, Albert had to shoot it with a shotgun, before it escaped. Fortunately, this first specimen of Troides alexandrae was not destroyed by this shot. Albert was able to recover and preserve it, and exhibit it at the Natural History Museum in London. With only a few millimeters to spare, no one might have ever heard of this unusual butterfly!
When the workers of the construction site of a dam, in Altamira, in the north of Brazil, start their day of work. Their only wish is to have no surprises and that the construction goes on as planned. Indeed, in this construction site where the workers often handle explosives, any unplanned event could cost them their lives. On this particular day, they were installing dynamite in a cave that was in their way. Once they are sure that all the security instructions are respected. They explode the cave. Despite their many precautions, these workers are treated to the most terrifying and unexpected surprise. They fell on a giant anaconda, of more than one meter in diameter for 10 m length and which weighs not less than 400 kg. This enormous snake is the biggest reptile of our era. It is so big that they had to attach it to a crane to move it. After this memorable day of work, our workers understood that chance doesn’t necessarily make things right!
That was 10 giant creatures discovered by chance. Tell us in the comments which one surprised you the most? And if you like this video, don’t forget to give a Like, subscribe to the channel and activate the bell to receive all the notifications and not miss anything of our next contents.
