Goonch in Ramganga

[Debasis Bose]

This shot was taken at High Bank. Saw 7 goonch lying at the bottom of deepest (about 2 m max) part of Ramganga, took picture of all seven goonch in one frame with 300mm f2.8 and then extented the reach with 2x teleconvertor to shoot the largest of the goonch, attached here.
I am not very good at guessing, but to me it appears about 50-60kg. Understand that they can grow to 150 kg weight and they are known to be maneater if opportunity prevails.

Nikon D700, Nikor 300mm f2.8, teleconvertor 2x, 600mm @ fstop 5.6, exposure 1/250, ISO 450

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Interesting. Seeing this fish has been a dream of mine for a while now. Yes, they have in the past turned to man-eating.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

I normally take the programming in Animal Planet like River Monsters with a pinch of salt. Nevertheless, if a really large sized specimen exists and can get the taste of man, then there could be a possibility of capturing a child. Normally man is not a prey species. However, if dead bodies are regularly thrown into a river without proper cremation, then the fish can get a taste of man. There are examples of african cat fish capturing pigeons when they are drinking water.

[Mrudul Godbole]

Nice to see this species. Thanks for sharing.

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Nice to see this.
TFS
Roopak

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Majestic fish of the Ramganga, one of the major tributaries of the GANGA. Nice documentation. Another nice page from 'Wandering in the jungles called Corbett' from Bhai Debasis.

".....The story of Ganga from her source to sea, from old times to new, is the story of India's civilisation and culture, of the rise and fall of the empires, the great and proud cities, the adventures of man and the quest of the mind which has so occupied India's thinkers, of the richness and fulfilment of life and its denial and renunciation, of the ups and downs of growth and decay, of life and death. ......."
-Jawaharlal Nehru (The Discovery of India)

This fish is a great scavenger too. It serves unaccounted millions of people living on the banks by keeping their water 'Pabitra' and clean.

Some unfortunate accident might have taken place. Real maneaters killing spirits of others live within us staying in cities or even in villages.

AND YET, we will call this majestic fish a maneater !

Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

It is worth noting that "man-eating" in the case of catfishes is not similar to the man-eating behaviour occasionally seen with big cats and other land mammals. Most catfishes, especially the Sisorids which include the goonch, are voracious, optimistic feeders that will take practically anything they perceive as a meal. They may grow to very large sizes, depending almost entirely on their environment and food availability. Consequently, if they grow large enough, they would take humans, dog-sized animals etc. There are probably no cases where, like injured or handicapped big cats, they have taken to actively seeking out and hunting humans.