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Thai fishers struggled for more than an
hour to haul in the record-breaking Mekong giant
catfish. Officials from Thailand's Inland Fishery
Department then used a performance-enhancing drug to
stimulate the pituitary gland of the female fish in
order to prepare it for a breeding program (above).
Despite efforts to keep the bear-size catfish alive, it
died and was later eaten by villagers.
The species is listed as critically endangered by the
World Conservation Union (IUCN) and faces a high risk of
extinction in the wild. The rare specimen, captured in
the Mekong River in Chiang Khong district, is the
largest since Thailand began keeping records in 1981.
