Mekong Mutilator is an episode in the seventh season of River Monsters.
Episode Description[]
A report from Southeast Asia, of something in the water that's sliced cleanly through a young man's testicle, is enough to lure freshwater detective Jeremy Wade to the shores of the Mekong, a river renowned for its monstrous fish.
Episode Summary[]
Wade hears of a vicious attack in Cambodia, of a man who had his testicle sliced in half. He also hears of different attacks with similar features. He heads to the Mekong River right away.
First he decides to go to the fish market to try and find either suspects or victims. One fish he sees is the Snakehead. It is a toothy and potentially dangerous fish, but the wounds on the victim were clean and surgical, unlike what a Snakehead would produce.
He then proceeds to start fishing in the area, but instead of fish, he catches trees. The fast flowing current is causing him to pull up loose branches from the bottom.
He decides to ask some local people for a possible suspect, and a monk at a local temple shows him a Giant Softshell Turtle. Although it can crush bones and mutilate fingers, it is so endangered that it cannot be behind many attacks on the river.
Next he fishes at a place where some large fish are preserved. He manages to catch a Siamese Carp first. However it has no teeth and cannot be the culprit. Then, he catches a Mekong Giant Catfish but eliminates this fish for the same reason.
He decides to continue fishing in the main river yet manages to catch nothing. He then asks people on the Mekong's banks about other victims, and a man says he knows someone who got attacked. Wade then goes and meets the victim, and it becomes apparent he is talking to the man who was attacked in the penis, the same attack Wade came to investigate.
The man offers no clues except for where he was attacked. Wade goes to the area and sees that there are a lot of snags in the area, and tight spaces. The attacker either has to be snake-like or very small. With this fresh evidence Wade decides to continue fishing but still catches nothing. Finally, his guide shows him the skeleton of a Freshwater Pufferfish, a venomous species. However, it is only poisonous if eaten, explaining why it isn't in fish markets.
He asks other people about their experiences, and they too give attack stories which confirm the pufferfish story. One person was nearly blinded by an attack to the face, while another bled to death after being bitten in the leg.
The guide's nets were torn open in a distant lake, and that was where he got the skeleton. Wade heads there at once and after talking to some locals, it becomes apparent Pufferfish are very numerous in the area and everyone has been attacked a few times at least.
Wade now fishes in the area, yet still is unsuccessful. He then realizes that pufferfish only attack when threatened, so they will not bite his bait, and the only way to catch one is by a net. He hooks up with a local family who are fishing and starts trying to finally catch the culprit.
However, he is required to get into the water to check the net for snags. He hopes he will not be attacked. However, a fish draws minor blood from his hand, but the injury is mild and Wade gets into the boat after checking the nets. Finally, when the nets are pulled in, the pufferfish start coming in. Wade examines some and then throws them back. He knows that this is the fish responsible for the brutal attacks.
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