Among the fish populations that could be harmed by the Xayaburi dam in Laos is the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish, considered by the Guinness Book of World Records to be the world’s largest freshwater fish. The fish, which grows to 650 pounds and about 10 feet long, is only found in the Mekong River. It is migratory, moving between downstream habitats in Cambodia upstream to northern Thailand and Laos each year to spawn. Some experts fear the Xayaburi dam could block the migration and drive the giant catfish to extinction. (Photo by Courtesy of Zeb Hogan/University of Nevada, Reno)

In this handout image provided by Parks Australia, thousands of red crabs are seen walking in a drain on November 23, 2021 in Christmas Island. The annual migration of red crabs begins with first rains of the wet season on Christmas Island, usually around October or November. Millions of the red crabs make their way across the island to the ocean to mate and spawn. (Photo by Parks Australia via Getty Images)

A man dressed as Hindu Lord Shiva looks into the mirror as he gets ready to take part in a religious procession on the eve of Janmashtami festival in Amritsar, India, September 4, 2015. The festival, which marks the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, will be celebrated across India on Saturday. (Photo by Munish Sharma/Reuters)

Indian groom Prakash Sing (R) and bride Durga Prasad (C) perform marriage rituals at the Lord Shiva temple during the Maha Shivratri festival, in Kolkata, eastern India, 01 March 2022. Maha Shivaratri is celebrated with great devotion and religious fervor by Hindus, in honor of Lord Shiva with ritual bathing of Shivalingams and prayers. Unmarried women observe fast from dawn to dusk and pray to Lord Shiva to give them a good spouse. According to one of the most popular legends, Shivaratri is the wedding day of Lord Shiva and Parvati. (Photo by Piyal Adhikary/EPA/EFE)

In this Wednesday, April 3, 2019, photo, children play in the water on a beach as a mosque collapsed during the Sept. 28, 2018, earthquake is seen in the background in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The earthquake spawned a large localized tsunami that wiped out coastal areas, while liquefaction caused by the shaking turned entire neighborhoods into rivers of sludge. The disaster killed thousands of people, making it the world’s deadliest seismic event in 2018. (Photo by Tatan Syuflana/AP Photo)

This diver almost got sucked into the mouth of a massive whale shark as it feeds on plankton. But far from staring into the jaws of death – the shark, which are the sea's largest fish, is actually vegetarian. The relieved diver escaped from the encounter unscathed and continued to enjoy the presence of the incredibly docile animals. The stunning photograph, by Mauricio Handler, was taken during a feeding session where more than 600 of the huge creatures gathered to feed on tuna spawn. (Photo by Mauricio Handler/Daily Mail/Solent)

An artist carries a clay statue of Lord Vishwakarma to the market for sale before the Vishwakarma Puja festival in Nepal, Kathmandu on September 16, 2025. The festival, celebrated on September 17 this year, honors Lord Vishwakarma, regarded as the divine engineer and craftsman, and involves prayers for creativity, prosperity, and protection of tools and workplaces. (Photo by Safal Prakash Shrestha/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)