It’s not every day that you stumble upon a rare giant Chinese salamander, but this past week, that’s exactly what a fisherman exploring some of the caves around the Chinese city of Chongqing did.
In a video that went viral because of the somewhat cute, but also creepy content, a rare appearance of a giant Chinese salamander just minding its own business and swimming through some water is observed and recorded.
The animal weighed an astounding 114 pounds and is reported by the local news reporters as having been about 4.5 feet in length. Also known as Andrias Davidianus, the creature is the largest of the Earth’s amphibians; it's nocturnal for the most part, and they move very slowly too.
Some reports even suggest that the giant Chinese Salamander found in the last week could be over 200 years old, but it seems like a stretch to suggest that since giant Chinese Salamanders are typically known to live about a quarter of that lifespan in the wild.
The reason that giant Chinese Salamanders are somewhat of a rare sight is because they’re in a critically endangered state due to being captured. After being captured, they’ve been known to be eaten, but some people try to keep them as pets or even breed them.
In this particular instance, the giant Chinese Salamander was removed from its habitat and is in care of professionals who will ensure the safety of the animal and perform research on it to learn more about it.
You can watch the video of the salamander below: