"Glad to be out of the woods. Are we there yet?" Yup. This is classic habitat for the giant Amazonian leech. These savannah swamps fill with one to four feet of freshwater in the wet season.

The National Fish Habitat Partnership has designated Leech Lake watershed as one of the nationally recognized 10 “Waters to Watch,” for 2013, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural ...

Once widespread in the UK, the medicinal leech is now rare due mainly to habitat loss and historic collecting for medical use. In Ireland, the leech was driven to extinction in the 19th century.