Our oceans are filled with monstrously huge animals, and sometimes there’s a very lucky fisherman or woman who reels one in! We’re not staying in the ocean – there have also been some incredibly disturbingly large animals caught on land as well!
10 - Frog in the throat
I sincerely hope not! This is the Goliath Frog, and I don’t know who the guy is that caught it, but he’s extremely brave to have done so! They are freakishly large, some up to 13- inches in length and can weigh as much as 7.1-pounds. They’re usually found near Gabon in West Africa, and are often eaten by locals. Their numbers are sadly dwindling due to being eaten, traded and loss of natural habitat.
9 - Holy mackerel!
Great white sharks have a number of interesting names, like beasts of the ocean, remnants from the past or apex predators – regardless of what you call them, they’re still sea dwellers you wouldn’t like to meet face to face. This vintage photograph shows a great white that was caught in Cuba that was 21-feet and weighed 7,000-pounds! This story was a bit of a legend, and many didn’t believe this image was real! Known as "El Monstruo de Cojimar, a Discovery Channel documentary crew has done some extensive research into the tales, images and whatever else, and they have confirmed the tale to be 100% true!
8 - Good things come to those that bait
When you think of seahorses, you generally think of tiny cute little sea creatures. Although these unusual creatures don’t look like fish, they really are. They are usually 0.6 inches long, so it came as a huge surprise when a British fisherman caught one that was 14 inches!
7 - Rise to the bait
It was hard work for the crew of New Zealand vessel, San Aspiring, as they brought on board this colossal squid. Found in the Ross Sea, this catch was incredible for the team who were now able to study this majestic creature up close. They live between 3,000 and 6,000 feet deep in the Antarctic and contrary to what we previously thought, these squids are not monsters, but much more sedentary. We have these images in our heads, of these creatures wrapping their tentacles around boats and bringing them down, but those are of course all myths and stories. It has been learnt that they wait patiently for fish to pass them, which they then capture and eat.
6 - Surf and Turf
Ocean Sunfish, or Mola Mola, are the heaviest bone fish in the world. They mainly eat jellyfish and a female sunfish can lay up to 300 million eggs at a time! How many of those actually survive, I have no idea. This bad boy was caught by W. N. McMillan in 1910 and weighed an astronomical 3,500 pounds. Generally, a heavy sunfish can weigh up to 2,200 pounds.
5 - Plenty of fish in the sea
That may be so, but there are certainly not that many oarfish in the ocean! They’re mostly harmless, although you wouldn’t guess that just by looking at it. This 300-pound specimen was caught by Navy Seals off the coast of San Diego and was 23-feet long.
4 - Crocodile Tears
This is Cassius Clay, the biggest croc in captivity. He weighs close to a ton, and was captured in 1984 in the Northern Territory. He is just under 18-feet and has lived at Marineland Melanesia crocodile park on Green Island for 24-years. He even had a double page dedicated to him in the 2012 Guinness Book of Records.
3 - Big Brother is watching you
Ok, there’s a good chance that he wasn’t caught in the regular way – but does winning him count? This pet goldfish belongs to Ada Shaw, a widow from Kent. It’s probably one of the biggest goldfish you’ll ever see. Named Goldie, this fish is 15.7 inches long and weighs more than 2-pounds, and is still growing! The current record for the biggest goldfish is 18.7 inches, and experts believe Goldie will surpass him. Goldie’s owner believes it’s the love and attentions as well as his excellent food that has made him grow this big.
2 - Click Bait
Did you see what we did there? I’d love to share more amazing facts about what looks to be a remarkable catch, but I think we’ve all been caught out with this image and that its been staged to look like a monster has been caught in this shallow bit of water!
1 - News from the deep
This is a mantis shrimp, and they usually grow to around 3 inches. Steve Bargeron managed to catch one that was 18 inches long! He caught it in Florida while fishing off a dock. There are around 400 species of mantis shrimp, but which exact species this one fell under, was unknown.
