Less than a month ago, Singapore’s River Safari welcomed seven very large friends. Yet, their transporting of giant friends didn’t stop there. Just today, monsters of the aquatic world officially went on display at the River Safari. This includes six Mekong giant catfish – a fish that can knock a man unconscious with its fin. This species is one of the world’s largest freshwater fish, capable of growing up to 3 metres in length and nearly 300 kilogrammes in weight.
In case you’ve no idea what a Mekong giant catfish looks like, here, let us help you:
Now, try this for size:
It wasn’t easy to transport the freshwater “monsters”.
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They (the fish) were each kept in 2m-long heavy-duty customized plastic bags, packed into a container, and transported more than 2,500km by truck. The arduous three-day journey from Thailand to Singapore included two pitstops in Bangkok and Johor to change the water in the bags. On top of that, they also had to be constantly checked on to ensure that the critically endangered creatures were not stressed.
Ang Cheng Chye, the assistant director of zoology at River Safari said, “Many people think that fish are just fish, they’re not big deal. But people have been killed by catfish”. Uh, scary much?
The River Safari Singapore will be open from 9am to 6pm every day. Tickets during the soft opening phase cost S$25 for adults, S$16 for children aged between three and 12, and S$12.50 for those over 60.
(Source)
