The Host Of River Monsters Came Face To Face With A 20-Foot Anaconda In An Unscripted Encounter
Deep beneath the murky waters of the Amazon rainforest, the world’s favorite “extreme angler” has come face-to-face with a sight that would paralyze most people with fear. But as Jeremy Wade stares into the eyes of the anaconda — measuring at least 20 feet in length — he somehow keeps his cool. After all, it’s far from the first river monster he’s encountered in his storied career.
The extreme angler
To fans of River Monsters, Wade’s ultra-successful Animal Planet reality show, he needs no introduction. But we’ll give him one anyway, because we’re nice like that. From the Congo to India’s mountain rivers, Wade has searched for exotic freshwater fish all over the world for much of the last 40 years. He even did it for fun before anyone paid him.
A childhood interest
Wade’s interest in fishing can be traced back to his childhood growing up in England. He once told Adventure Outdoors Magazine, “The village where I grew up had a river flowing through it. So, it was inevitable, I think, that I should be drawn to it in the same way that people born in sight of Alpine peaks become climbers.”
A love for exploration
In his early days, Wade explored the world simply by throwing himself in the deep end. He contracted malaria on one expedition in the Congo and it nearly took his life, but he persevered. He loved three things: traveling, making new discoveries, and fishing. He once told Singular City, “You get addicted to that kind of life. Opening yourself up and being vulnerable to the forces of nature and whatever else is out there.”
Trying to make it
Initially, Wade made money by writing about his adventures for fishing publications. He then wrote a book called Somewhere Down the Crazy River, which was published in 1992. Having said that, a genuine career doing what he loved seemed like a pipe dream. That is, until he snapped a fateful photo of an arapaima fish in the year 2000.
