Wild Fact #809 – Feeding Time – Piranha
Photo by Alexdi (Wikimedia)
The exciting Wild Fact for today will be about one of the more popular fish species known to man. The reputation as baddest fish in the river has to go to the Piranha. Just the name of this little fish will strike fear into even the most brave people. Let’s take a minute and find out a bit more about the deadly piranha.
The piranha can be found in virtually every country in South America and lately as a result of irresponsible pet owners, they have been found in the Southern USA. For the record, it is illegal to own Piranha’s in the majority of the US States so check the laws if you have one as a pet. As well, please don’t dump them into the natural environment as they have the potential to destroy our natural ecosystems.
So what is it about the piranha that makes them so feared? Well, it might be their single row of razor sharp teeth or perhaps their thirst for blood. We have all seen the movies where a school of piranha’s will feast in an erratic frenzy. The movies may exaggerate this feeding behaviour but they really do feed in a frenzy. Despite their reputation the piranha is actually an omnivore. That’s right, they don’t feed solely on fish, mammals and birds. They also like to feed on insects, aquatic plants and snails. Yummy, escargot! You might also be surprised that these feared fish actually have a few predators including river dolphins, crocodiles, turtles, birds and larger fish. I guess this just goes to prove that no matter how fierce you seem, there is always something higher up on the food chain.
When it comes to parenting the piranha’s know what their doing. Generally the female will lay about 5000 eggs and since the male and female do such a great job guarding the nest, about 90% of these eggs will hatch in a few days. Don’t worry folks, I will do the math for you. That is 4500 baby piranha’s being born from a single mated pair. Imagine how high your babysitting bill would be if you wanted to go on a date night with your significant other. Let’s see, at $10 per child, it would cost you $45 000 for that quality time away from the kids. Yikes!
I hope you enjoyed today’s fact.
May 18th, 2010 at 9:16 AM
Lol…You make it fun to read.. good going!
May 18th, 2010 at 10:30 AM
You are so hysterical. It is good to know that there are some piranha predators. These guys are so terrifying to me. Are they edible, by the way? zHow would one even fish for them? It seems like they would eat bait, line AND pole!
May 18th, 2010 at 8:36 PM
hahaha!
I am glad you enjoyed it Tiffini! If you ever have any questions or an animal you would like more information on then don’t be shy to send me a message.
Nathan
May 18th, 2010 at 8:41 PM
Hi Carmen,
They are pretty scary looking, aren’t they… well for a fish!
Surprisingly enough, piranha’s are edible and are usually caught with nets. There are problems associated with fishing for piranha’s. For example, if you get one on your hook, it is likely to be eaten by the rest of the piranha’s it was traveling with.
Similarly, they are a nuisance for commercial fisherman as well since they damage the nets, eat their bait and will bite if they aren’t handled properly.
Piranha’s are often sought after for fish tanks and indigenous populations use their teeth for tools and weapons. Who would have thought there would be so much interest in these little guys.
January 19th, 2011 at 12:43 PM
@Nathan,
You are so right about piranha’s they are very interesting! This will really help me with my world geography poster. Thank you, a lot!
January 19th, 2011 at 12:48 PM
Hi Nathan,
What facts do you reccomend for a high school world geography project?
January 19th, 2011 at 12:51 PM
@Nathan, Never mind my last comment. I read the article and researched 3 other articles totally different from this one! Which one should I go by? I was tginking about relying on this one, it seemed more interesting and relyable.
April 18th, 2011 at 7:28 AM
I just wanted to say thta this is a good website for children.
April 24th, 2011 at 5:45 PM
Thanks, Jaylah!
May 16th, 2011 at 10:40 PM
i didnt know that there were fish that eat us human beings!
very interesting!
July 28th, 2011 at 12:06 PM
those fish are scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 7th, 2011 at 12:59 PM
this is sooo cooll!!!!! i love this website!!!!!
December 7th, 2011 at 2:35 PM
Thanks Jasmine!
I am glad you enjoy Wild Facts.
December 7th, 2011 at 6:21 PM
good article I used it for a science project.
December 12th, 2011 at 8:26 AM
they can tare bones in half.
December 12th, 2011 at 8:29 AM
These guys are deadley. If you watch river monsters on animal planet. There freaky fish.
December 13th, 2011 at 5:36 PM
I have yet to see that show, Sam. I will have to check it out.
You are right though, these fish are deadly!
December 13th, 2011 at 5:37 PM
I believe it, Sam!
December 13th, 2011 at 5:52 PM
Thanks!
I am glad it was able to help you out with your project.
April 10th, 2012 at 5:44 PM
@Nathan, how bout a Newfoundland pine marten. Thx!
April 10th, 2012 at 6:15 PM
Thanks for the suggestion!
You will see the Newfoundland Pine Marten on April 11, 2012.
Nathan
May 6th, 2012 at 6:44 PM
@nathan,
This is really good information! im doing a project on piranhas and your website really helped, A LOT! You made piranhas very interesting for me….Thank You.