Giant Mekong Catfish

(Click to enlarge image)

Yesterday I watched a wildlife documentary about the freakishly large Goonch Catfish which have allegedly been preying on humans along a five mile stretch of the Kali river, in India. The explanation given for this unexpected reordering of the food chain (which previously placed man above blackened Catfish steaks) is that the fish acquired their taste for human flesh as a result of scavenging burnt remains from the riverside funeral pyres.

Villagers living in the area where the attacks took place claim that these monsters are able to suck their prey into their giant gaping mouths from a few feet away. Now I am going to have to use up one of my three wishes ensuring that I don’t meet my end being sucked to death by a three meter long catfish; not when the relative dignity of a Crocodile or Bull Shark attack are still options.

I was sufficiently intrigued by the programme to fold Mizuno Ken’s Giant Mekong Catfish. It’s a simple, abstract model that even a novice could have a go at. The formation of the flat mouth helps to round out the belly and make the body three dimensional.