Shocking Live Cam Video Shows Catfish Crawling Out of Water for a Nighttime Stroll on Land
Fish can’t walk. At least we have grown up learning this. But a freaky episode that unfolded recently deep in South Africa’s Naledi Game Lodge makes us think that we might be missing some details. Fish, it seems, can walk on land, climb, and breathe air. The catfish, especially. Catfish can do all the things other fish can’t. In the lodge’s outdoors, a live cam operated by Africam recorded footage of a catfish crawling out of a water pond and venturing on a nighttime stroll. Deep in the heart of Greater Kruger, on grounds skirting the lodge, this slithery creature left viewers mystified and wondering whether it is more dramatic or paranormal.
The black and white footage opens to reveal the edge of a pond encircled by bushy vegetation. On the surface, the water is not still; it is rippling. There is a subtle tremble, and then a slithery creature emerges from the water, its wriggling body gleaming silver in the moonlight. For a few moments, the fish jiggles around in the pond, and at about one minute into the footage, it crawls out on a rocky outcrop, its slender body looking glimmery with wetness. With undulating movements and muscle contractions, the fish propels itself on land, exhibiting wave-like motions. As the camera catches one of its eyes, the eye glints like a little glowing gem of the night.
At one minute and 37 seconds into the video, the camera catches a detailed glimpse of the creature: its fleshy lips, its body like a dollop of sausage, and barbs that resemble a cat’s whiskers or the hairs of a human’s mustache. After wandering around on land for a few more seconds, the catfish flumped back into the water, provoking ripples that sparkled when touched by the moon’s light. “An extraordinary and rare nocturnal encounter you won’t forget,” Africam wrote in the video’s caption. Outlets reported that the footage was recorded on January 13.
While only one catfish in this footage walked on land, there were several others that were swimming in the water. In conversation with IFL Science, a spokesperson for Africam said these fish were “coming in and out for about 20 minutes, most probably searching for things to eat.” They speculated that it’s always interesting to see something so unusual. “It's more common to see them do this when the waterholes dry up, but now we are having flooding in the area, so they may feel safer to explore and move due to the overflow," they added. Meanwhile, viewers mused that the fish resembles a primordial creature from a time long gone by.
Some are wondering, as they evolve, will their next generation develop human-like legs? But as it seems, it’s just their unusual physiology that endows them with thousands of taste buds they can use to sense food without even having a bite. Their sensory barbels allow them to scour for food in the dark, murky waters or ornamental ponds where they dwell. As BBC Earth explains, these fish feature grayish-blue sides with a black back and whitish body, which can reach up to a length of 5 feet. They are usually observed in Southeast Asia’s Mekong River Basin or inside the tropical waters of Asia, Africa, and South America, but they are native to Africa and the Middle East. They are often observed patrolling the dry riverbeds and watering holes, as also seen in the footage. A documentary by Wild Waters said that they are the largest freshwater predators in Europe, some of them even preying on birds like pigeons, according to the South African National Biodiversity Institute. In this case, the species is an African sharp-tooth catfish.
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