Giant River Stingrays Found Near Thai City

This is the seventh story in a continuing series on the Megafishes Project. Join National Geographic News on the trail with project leader Zeb Hogan as he tracks down the world's largest freshwater fishes.

When anglers called that March afternoon to say they had caught a giant freshwater stingray near this bustling Thai city, biologist Zeb Hogan couldn't believe it.

But when Hogan arrived at the river that afternoon, he found that not only had the anglers reeled in a 14-foot-long (4.3-meter-long) ray, but that the creature had also just given birth to a dinner plate-size baby.

The newborn clung to the rough skin on the back of its mother, which was being held at the riverbank by nine handlers.

"Amazing," Hogan said. "A stingray this size giving birth before our eyes."

Megafish Title

The giant freshwater stingray, also known as the freshwater whip ray, is found in several rivers in Southeast Asia and northern Australia...