Big tiger fish in the Congo River: even crocodiles avoid meeting her

If in the waters of the Amazon the most voracious and bloodthirsty fish are predatory piranhas, then in Africa these include mbenga that lives in the Congo Basin. She, like piranhas, has powerful teeth, but her size is much larger. In the hungry season, when all small fish in the river are already overfished, Mbengi often attack waterfowl, young crocodiles and even people, thereby confirming the status of the most dangerous and gluttonous fish of all that live in the waters of Africa.

Locals call this predatory fish Mbenga, and the scientific name of this species is large tiger fish (lat. Hydrocynus goliath). Large tiger fish belong to the genus of hydrocins, to which their close relatives also belong - ordinary tiger fish. Mbenga is a very large fish, males reach a length of 1.3 meters, and an adult can weigh up to 50 kilograms.

Large tiger fish live in large rivers and lakes in central Africa. There are many of them in the Congo River and its tributaries, as well as in Lake Tanganyika. Mbengi live in packs, and their size allows them to swim upstream, swallowing smaller fish along the way. Often Mbengi, having a huge mouth and 32 sharp teeth, swallow their prey whole. The victims of these freshwater monsters can become gape birds that have sat down to rest on the surface of the water, as well as young crocodiles. But most of all Mbengi love African fish called camba, which most often become their victims.

But gluttonous Mbengs are sometimes unlucky. Because of their large size, they are the subject of fishing, and tourists who come to Africa are often taken for sport fishing, where the main trophy is a large tiger fish.