Welcome back.
I'm clover and I'm here with another group of 50 bizarre facts a curious cat can dig
up.
Today, I'm fixated on fish but not just any fish – the fearsome beast with the amazing
teeth – the Piranha!
I was curious if piranhas are really as bad as the movies make them seem and besides,
their teeth are just so amazing I knew there would be some curious facts to discover – the
first, the word piranha actually means fish tooth.
I don't think most of us have actually seen a piranha in real life since they are native
to the rivers of South America though apparently some piranha can be found in warm lakes and
rivers in North America as well.
They have also been introduced to other places including northern brazil, Hawaii and other
parts of central and north America.
There are between 30 and 60 different species of pirhana but they all share most of the
same characteristics so whether you've seen one in person or only in the movies, everyone
likely recognize their round bodies, bulldog like face and amazingly noticeable teeth.
If you haven't even seen a picture, a piranha is basically just a silver fish covered in
red patches that serve to camouflage it in muddy river beds though they can also have
yellow, black, or grey mottled skin and often have colorful underbellies.
The piranha can usually be found hanging out in small groups of about 20 fish waiting for
a tasty meal but sometimes as many as 1000 piranha will gather into a protective pack
hoping to save themselves from predators like dolphins, crocodiles, caiman, large birds,
turtles and even river otters.
See, if an adorable otter can hurt a piranha there can be no doubt the movies have maligned
what is actually a pretty cool fish.
Movies would have us think that a piranha wants nothing more than to devour every morsel
of meat it can find but it turns out that the piranha is actually an omnivore and an
opportunistic one at that usually eating whatever is close rather than roaming in huge packs
looking for a chance to wreak feeding frenzy like devastation.
While it does eat snails, fish and other aquatic animals it will also eat fruit and seeds with
equal pleasure.
Maybe the stories come from the fact that a piranha will eat larger creatures such as
mammals and birds if they fall into the water but such things don't happen all that often.
Most movies show piranhas finishing off a giant mammal in only seconds when they get
into a feeding frenzy but even a large school of piranha will need a little more than that
to eat a substantial sized meal.
What is real from the movies is the piranha teeth and jaws.
Adult piranha's grow between 5 and a half and seventeen inches and weigh in at about
7 and half pounds but they have the teeth and jaw strength of a much more fearsome creature.
Their triangular shaped teeth are very sharp and arranged in a single row in their powerful
jaw and are sharp and fierce enough to bite through a silver fishing hook.
That's not to say those teeth are invincible.
In fact, its not uncommon to find a piranha with a bunch of missing teeth.
Don't worry though, it is just waiting for new ones to grow since the piranha's teeth
are replaced continuously throughout its lifetime.
Actually, that's pretty neat too.
The piranha's teeth grow in four sets – one for each corner of its mouth and each set
is replaced about every 100 days.
The jaw is equally impressive with enough strength to crush a human hand if one is foolish
enough to offer it up to a hungry piranha.
If you really want to see one, its easiest to find a school during the daytime when most
piranha are out seeking food because they usually feed communally.
Don't worry though The only time a feeding frenzy happens is when there is a shortage
of food or fresh blood in the water which the piranha can detect in much the same way
sharks do.
See they have a special sensory organ designed specifically to sense blood and will rush
to the source of fresh blood in hopes of an easy eal.
Piranha usually feed according to size with the larger fish monopolizing the waters in
the late after noon or early evening and smaller more visible at dawn.
Piranha's are also good parents.
The female piranha can lay up to 5000 eggs in a bowl shaped nest in the sediment of a
river or lake.
The male and the female both swim around the pits to protect and tend to the eggs which
hatch after only a few days though the exact time depends on the temperature of the water.
Newly hatched piranha feed on zooplankton until they grow large enough for more regular
fare and both fishy parents will work to protect the young from predators until they are grown.
So you see, piranhas are actually pretty cool creatures that can live up to 25 years in
the wild and only about 10 to 20 in captivity so you probably don't want one as a pet.
I
f you do see one in an aquarium, keep your hands out because despite all I've shared,
they will bite you.
If possible, ask the aquarium keeper for a tooth or two.
Locals in areas where there are many piranhas have found that piranha teeth make awesome
weapons and tools.
Since they shed those teeth often, the aquarium might have some they are willing to share.
Thanks for spending some time with me while I satisfied my curiosity about whether piranhas
are as bad as movies make them seem.
Click subscribe because I'll be back tomorrow with another 50 curious facts for you.
See you then – clover out.
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