Jeremy Wade Is Loved by Many for His 'River Monsters' Role — Fans Wonder if He Is Still Alive

The Animal Planet series River Monsters might have ended in 2017 after nine full seasons and a singular Season 10 episode, but the star and host, Jeremy Wade, is still on fans' minds. Namely, many want to know if Jeremy Wade is alive, likely because of a Reddit post where fans discussed his accomplishments during the show's long run on Animal Planet and ITV in the U.K.

The user who made the post wrote that the show ended "because Jeremy Wade literally caught every large freshwater fish species on Earth, and simply ran out of content for the show." In the comments, some users referred to Jeremy in the past tense and even joked about him "catching fish in the sky." So, is he still alive or not?

Despite the comments on the Reddit thread and Jeremy's Instagram being a time capsule since it was last updated in 2021, it looks like Jeremy is not dead. In fact, according to his Facebook page, he makes appearances and has written at least two books about his adventures. He may no longer be on television, but there has been no word of Jeremy dying after River Monsters ended.

In the Reddit thread about the alleged reason why River Monsters ended, someone wrote that Jeremy is alive. To that, another user commented, "If he's not fishing, is he really alive?" But the reason for him no longer fishing in such an intense capacity could be due to his health, according to another user. Someone commented on the thread that a fish injured Jeremy at one point and caused heart issues.

The user commented that they believe an arapaima fish "rammed" Jeremy's chest and caused a "heart issue" for the former River Monsters star. Per the National Zoo, arapaima can grow up to 10 feet and even reach 440 pounds at their heaviest, even if that isn't as common as the arapaima being closer to 200 pounds and around seven or eight feet.

It's unclear if that actually happened to the longtime river fisherman, but either way, he did not die after the show ended. Until the series ended in 2017, Jeremy was known for his lifetime of traveling to remote rivers and sharing his findings with viewers who had never seen anything like it before. He also traveled and explored on his own before he was eventually given his own TV show, according to his personal website.

It turns out, Jeremy's reason for allowing River Monsters to end could very well have to do with him finding so many different species that it felt like it was time to say goodbye. According to a press release that Jeremy reportedly released at the time, he explained that he accomplished everything he set out to with River Monsters.

"Some shows can run forever, but our subject matter is finite," he said. "10 years ago, I had a list in my head, which seemed impossibly ambitious at the time, but everything has now been ticked off — and then some. I have seen things beyond my wildest dreams, and sharing those moments with our loyal Animal Planet audiences has made them doubly special."