About River Monster

Last April, extreme angler and biologist Jeremy Wade searched the world for legendary and flesh-eating freshwater fish with the debut of River Monsters on Animal Planet, pulling in monster-sized ratings. From tiny piranha that can tear apart humans in the Amazon to large killer catfish in India that feed on dead bodies, Jeremy has seen it all... or has he?

This year, viewers will take a dive into another terrific seven episodes as River Monsters returns for a new season on the Discovery Channel. Jeremy travels to Southeast Asia to track what some believe is the world's largest freshwater fish — the giant freshwater stingray. This UFO-shaped marine monstrosity is said to measure about 16-feet long and 7-feet across, and weighs approximately 1,200 pounds. But what's really killer is that its got an 18-inch barbed, bayonet-like tail that could whip extremely painful venom through an unfortunate passerby — though that doesn't stop Jeremy from hunting this mysterious monster.

Jeremy's adventures will continue to take him all over the world to solve freshwater fish mysteries in such locations as the Congo, Thailand, South Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia, Alaska and even Florida to try to capture some amazing creatures and tell their tales. There's the freshwater fish that can grow as long as a whale, a species of shark that lives in fresh water 100 miles from the sea, and a fish with teeth as big as a lion's as well as other creatures and moments captured on film for the first time.

This season, expect to be reeled in as Jeremy tries to prove the authenticity of Alaska's native legendary monster that's fabled to drag people from their boats into an icy grave. Ride along as Jeremy "wades" through the Zambezi River for the bull shark and travels to Southeast Asia for the giant snakehead and to the Congo River for the goliath tigerfish.

"Freshwater is probably the last frontier of wildlife filmmaking," says Jeremy Wade. "Even big-budget film expeditions to rainforests and mountains regularly miss the spectacular underwater inhabitants. So even in the 21st century, there are genuine mysteries to be solved and discoveries to be made in rivers and ultimately shown to the outside world. 'Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it's not fish they are after,' wrote renowned American literary master Henry David Thoreau. In a sense, this is true of all the viewers who have tuned in to River Monsters. It's the adventure... the thrill... the extreme risk... and the 'moment of discovery' that people crave."