This Giant Red Leech Is Nightmare Fuel Of The Worm Eating Variety

[protected-iframe id=”99d718fbc4dd3e7839a02ddcc68a8432-60970621-60064866″ info=”https://www.bbc.co.uk/emp/embed/smpEmbed.html?playlist=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fiplayer%2Fplaylist%2Fp027f9q0&title=Wonders%20of%20the%20Monsoon%3A%20Strange%20Castaways%3A%20Monster%20leech%20swallows%20giant%20worm&product=iplayer” width=”650″ height=”400″ frameborder=”0″]

What you see in the disgusting above are the first captured images of the Giant Red Leech while it goes about its business, eating a worm like something out of Lady And The Tramp. I just don’t that Tramp was that into it this time around.

The clip comes from the new BBC documentary, Wonders of the Monsoon, and the Telegraphed detailed the exciting reaction of the filmmakers when they saw this thing in action. From The Telegraph:

The Giant Red Leech is one of the biggest in the world. The specimen captured on camera was around 30cm long but experts believe they could grow larger.

They have grown so big that they no longer simply suck blood but now actively hunt giant blue worms and suck them down like spaghetti. The worm it is eating is a whopping 78cm.

The new footage shows the leech detecting a worm’s trail and following the scent like a sniffer dog.

When it encounters its prey it quickly latches on and moves its lips up and down the iridescent blue body.

“It was either searching for an end to grab, or was working out whether it was too big to eat” said documentary director Paul Williams.

“When it found an end it started to suck. It was incredible”

Good luck sleeping tonight. I know I’ll be fending off nightmares revolving around this beast and its brethren covering my body and sending me to Hell. It’s a reminder of that creepy scene from Peter Jackson’s King Kong, where Andy Serkis is swallowed by all those giant worms.

(Via BBC / i09 / Telegraph)

×