Aggressive Wels bites swimmer: the police officer shoots fish in the Brombachsee

Aggressive Wels bites swimmer: the police officer shoots fish in the Brombachsee

in the idyllic Brombachsee in the district of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen, things are currently high. A catfish over two meters long attacked at least five swimmers and caused injuries. The fish, which weighs 90 kilograms on the scales, acted aggressively and thus caused panic moments among the bathers. The incident called on the schedule of a large number of emergency services, including the water guard and the police. This did not remain inactive and a police officer finally pulled his service weapon to put an end to the dangerous fish. With a targeted shot, he ended the danger and shot the catfish directly in the water. This reports Merkur .

The situation not only made the bathing area shudder, but also required immediate measures. In order to prevent further attacks, the area was initially closed until the rescue of the fish was completed. Two anglers were quickly there to get the shot catfish out of the water with a boat. Only then could the bathing operation be resumed. Meanwhile, the rescue workers of the Red Cross took care of the injuries to the bathers and thus provided quick help.

The background to Wels attacks

attacks by catfish are a market in bathing business, but they are not commonplace. In fact, catfish as a species of fish are rather shy. Reports about attacks are often to be provided with a question mark, since such incidents occur relatively rarely. But as ludwigshafen24 , it can lead to aggressive reactions, especially during the spawning season in May and June. This phase could also have been responsible for the incident at Lake Brombach.

catfish achieve impressive sizes of up to three meters and can weigh over 100 kilograms. But don't worry, it is not the person whom these water dwellers consider prey. Welse are mainly fish eaters and herbivows so that they do not use bathers. To a certain extent, people are not on the meal schedule of the catfish, which their aggressive behavior in the water does not excuse.

a dark chapter in Wels history

The situation on Lake Brombach wakes up memories of previous incidents. In particular, the "Killerwels" Kuno, which made headlines in Mönchengladbach over 20 years ago, comes to mind in connection with such stories. Welse have always stimulated people's imagination - and sometimes fear. Whether catfish are harmless and shy contemporaries or are occasionally forced to act remains an exciting topic for nature lovers and bathers.

The police and the water guard have pointed out that swimmers should be particularly careful in the future, especially in waters that are considered harmless. Thanks to the courageous intervention of the rescue workers, worse things could be prevented - lucky for the bathers who could still enjoy the day at the Brombachsee. The reporting of SPIEGEL shows, however, that the topic of catfish and its behavior should continue to be taken into account near bathers.