The Mekong River in Southeast Asia is home to its fair share of river monsters including its giant catfish that reportedly reach over 700 lbs and its equally massive freshwater stingrays. The latter is what is making waves around the globe, as a specimen landed by local anglers tipped the scales at over 660 lbs, making it the largest freshwater fish landed on record.
The fish was released after biologists took detailed measurements and tagged the fish so researchers can continue to monitor the fish. The researchers even gave the big girl a name, Boramy, meaning “full moon” in the local Khmer language.
Boramy was hooked by a local fisherman, who quickly called “Wonders of the Mekong”, a conservation project on the river after they realized the big specimen likely outweighed the fish that previously held the record, a fellow stingray that tipped scales at 645 lbs.
You can learn more about Boramy, the catch, and the work being done to protect the Mekong in this article from National Geographic!
Check out this clip from everyone’s favorite fishing show, River Monsters, where the legend himself, Jeremy Wade lands one of the Mekong’s stingrays for himself!
