File this story under: Reasons Why You Should Never Go Swimming in Rivers in South America.
Or, at least that’s what I’m filing this story…
Because this is straight-up terrifying!
A man in Argentina spent two hours fighting and struggling with a 550-pound stingray that he eventually reeled in from the Paraná River.
42-year-old Andrés Wilchen was fishing in the river between the towns of Fray Luis Beltrán and San Lorenzo where he has fished his whole life when he got the shock of a lifetime…this thing looks like something straight out of a horror movie.
Photo Credit: YouTube
Wilchen’s line was bitten on by a short-tailed river stingray and the fight was on with the 550-pound behemoth.
Wilchen said, “I was about to give up due to exhaustion. It had tremendous strength and was thrashing about at the bottom of the river.” He added that their boat would have been dragged away by the stingray if it hadn’t been moored. The stingray fought for two hours from the riverbed 36 feet below the surface.
Photo Credit: YouTube
Wilchen and two other men eventually hoisted the stingray onto the boat using chains and a pulley system.
The fisherman said, “I’ve caught lots of different species, including catfish and around 20 stingrays in the past, but nothing as big as this.”
Wow!
Well, I think that we can all agree that is pretty terrifying, right?
And now we want to hear from you!
What’s your craziest encounter with wildlife?
Talk to us in the comments and let us know.
We’d love to hear from you!