Over 200 Kg
There
are many urban legends that picture our friend Silurus glanis as
a repulsive shapeless, slimy monster who would eat anything passing
through its large mouth, having a predilection for hairy quadrupeds
(such as dogs and sheep) and children!
In many years spent fishing wel , it never happened to me (unfortunately)
to run into a specimen big enough to be able, admitting that It
would be willing, to do so (bear in mind that to encounter a siluro
in the river Po above 90 kg is Very rare!).
After many researches I have managed to recover just one old picture,
that I decided to show here.
(Unfortunately I do not have official dimensions. The weight has
been indicated 256 kg and the length 335 cm. The fish should have
been caught in the river Danubio).
Anyway…this fish, classified by someone a “scary animal”,
but for us Big friend, was baptized in the past by Gesner as “
Dutch whale”. It also drew the attention of erudies and inspired
poets a long time before Gesner.
Even Ausonio wrote:
Or
fra i figli dell'acque a te il mio canto,
Grande siluro, io volgo, a te che il dorso
Quasi spalmato d'attico olio porti,
E nei fiumi il delfin mi rappresenti,
Tanto grande mi appari in mezzo all'acque,
Traendo avanti la tua mole immane!
Talor scorri fra i giunchi, e fra gli stretti,
E movi in traccia di tranquillo fondo.
La verde sponda e l'azzurrina turba
E l'onda limpidissima ti guarda,
E sale il flutto e scorre oltre la riva.
Così talora dal profondo mare
Mossa dal vento o dal suo proprio impulso
Vien la balena a riva e spinge il mare:
Torreggian l'acque minacciando i monti,
Mite balena tu della Mosella
Non rechi danno, e sei d'onore al fiume |
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