The Amazon Rainforest is regarded as the most biologically diverse natural environment in the world. It is also one of the most dangerous forests. You can encounter many types of animals that will give you goosebumps, from piranhas and anacondas to the Amazonian giant leech.
Leeches, or bloodsucking slugs, are terrifying creatures that many hikers are familiar with. While most leeches are smaller than a human finger, the Amazonian giant leech is significantly larger.
The giant leech measures between 30 to 35 cm, but larger specimens can reach up to 46 cm. It is the largest freshwater leech in the world.
The largest freshwater leech in the world measures nearly half a meter long.
Amazonian giant leech.
This leech can only be found in the tropical forests of French Guiana and nearby areas of Brazil. It was first discovered by the Italian naturalist Vittore Giliani in 1849.
Throughout this period, the Amazonian giant leech has almost become legendary, described as a monster living deep within the jungle due to its extraordinary size. There is a story that claims it can drain all the blood from an adult in just a few hours.
Back in 1899, there was a claim that these giant leeches could gather together to take down horses and livestock by draining their blood.
They can survive for months without eating after just one blood meal.
Scientifically, they possess a needle-like proboscis that can penetrate the skin up to 10 cm and can suck blood at a rate of 0.14 to 15 ml per minute, increasing their body weight by 3 to 6 times. After just one blood meal, they can survive for months without needing to eat again.
The Amazonian giant leech was actually declared extinct in 1893, but in the 1970s, Dr. Roy Sawyer discovered two adult leeches in a pond in Shekiana, France.
One of them, named Mrs. Moses, successfully bred and established a new population at the University of California. This specimen gave birth to 750 offspring.
After Mrs. Moses passed away, the body of that leech was placed in the National Invertebrate Collection of the Smithsonian Institution.
