Wild Facts

Photo By Mila Zinkova

Welcome back to another fun and exciting week of Wild Facts.  Today we are going to head to the tropical and sub-tropical oceans (although some do live in freshwater systems) to learn about one of the most poisonous creatures on earth. Of course we are going to explore the life of none other than the Puffer Fish, also known as the Blow Fish. I am sure most of us are familiar with this unique fish but let’s see what else we can learn.

The Puffer fish is a very slow and clumsy swimmer which makes them easy pickings for any potential predator.  Instead of trying to out swim these fierce predators the Blow Fish has adapted a much more unique self defense mechanism. They have an elastic stomach and the ability to ingest large quantities of water in a short order of time. The result of this behaviour turns them into a large ball several times the size of their normal self.  Naturally this makes it very difficult for a normal fish to consume the Puffer Fish. If a predator is “lucky” enough to actually consume the fish before it blows up into a ball it will pay a very costly price.  As I mentioned the Blow Fish is one of the most poisonous animals on the planet.  In fact they contain a poison called tetrodotoxin which is up to 1200 times more lethal than cyanide.  If this doesn’t paint a clear enough picture than perhaps this little fact will. The Puffer Fish contains enough toxin to kill 30 humans and there is no known antidote.  Of course, humans like to tempt fate so believe it or not the meat of the Puffer Fish is served as a delicacy in Japan called “fugu”. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend trying to eat one of these guys. In fact, I would probably just stay away from them completely but I guess I am just a big baby.

Inflated Puffer Fish

Puffer Fish Fast Fact – After the eggs of a Puffer Fish hatch, the young (called fry) are not fully developed.  As a result they will form a hard protective shell around them. Eventually this shell will crack off and the fins and tail will develop.  Once the Puffer Fish is big enough it will swim down and integrate itself with the rest of the community.

Well that is all I have on the deadly Puffer Fish.  I hope you enjoyed today’s fact and I will see you back here tomorrow for Wild Fact #764.

Photograph by George Grall

Welcome to Wild Facts!  If this is your first time stumbling upon our crazy little place to learn all about animal facts than please feel free to snoop around.  As well you can leave a comment or send me an e-mail if you have any questions or would like some additional information about an animal.  If you happen to be one of the regular readers than welcome back and thanks for all of your support so far.  All of you reading this are in for a shocking post today.  No I mean it will literally be electrifying since we are going to look at the always interesting Electric Eel.  What can possibly be cooler than a fish that can give you a huge electrical shock? Well, I guess it would be pretty groovy if we had sharks with laser beams but let’s not get ridiculous (Bonus Wild Fact point if you caught the movie reference in that last line).

The first thing you need to know about the Electric Eel is they are not eels.  Yes they have the same “snake-like” appearance as our eel friends but they are actually more closely related to other fish such as carp and catfish.  As we all know the Electric Eel is able to produce an electric charge which they use to stun their prey or to defend against predators. Just how powerful is their electric charge? Good question and I had a hunch that you would ask this so I came prepared.  The Electric Eel actually has about 6000 specialized cells, called electrocytes, which store power like little batteries.  These cells are able to produce a charge of about 600 volts.  For the record a standard plug-in is only about 120 volts (in North America) so the Electric Eel can generate 5 times the power of a plug-in.  If you want to know what this feels like than stick a fork in the socket and multiply that by 5.  I AM KIDDING!  Where are you going? Geez, don’t actually stick a fork in the socket! Are you nuts? Luckily human deaths from an electric eel are very rare but repeatedly getting shocked could cause heart failure.  As well, some people have drowned after being stunned by these shocking eel-like fish. I recommend you try not to get shocked by an Electric Eel but I will let you decide what you want to do.

Electric Eel Fast Fact – The Electric Eel has relatively poor eyesight but is capable of producing a low level electric charge that helps paint a picture of their surroundings.  And we thought bats that used sonar were cool.  Eat your heart out Little Brown Bat!

Thanks for stopping by Wild Facts and I look forward to seeing you around.  Have a great day!

Photo by Detlef Buettner

I spent the last 3 days in a little town called Inuvik which is almost on the Arctic Ocean.  Actually, I was able to do a little fishing on the “Delta” which is formed when the McKenzie River enters the Arctic Ocean. Although we were technically fishing for northern pike I was hoping to land the infamous Inconnu.  For those of you that aren’t too sure what an Inconnu is then I suggest you keep reading.  You know what, even if you do know what they are I still suggest you continue reading!

The Inconnu is the largest member of the Whitefish family and in North America will typically grow to about 1 meter long (3′). The Inconnu found in Siberia are much larger and can weigh up to 45 kg (100 lbs).  You may know these fish by their other names including Coney, Sheefish or even Connie.  So what do these large Coney’s look like? Well they are bright silvery fish with green to pale brown backs.  They tend to have a long tapering body and a wide head with a lower jaw that sticks out further than their upper jaw.  This lower jaw contains tiny, densely packed teeth which actually feels like velvet to touch.  How cool would it be to have velvet teeth? They use these teeth to feed on other fish such as whitefish (eating their own family members….ewww), sticklebacks, burbot and of course insects and shrimp.

Inconnu will generally become mature between 7 and 10 years of age which is older than most fish species.  Some populations of Coney will make long migrations to over-wintering and feeding areas.  Incredibly they have been known to migrate up to 1600 km (994 miles).  That is one long road trip, in fact it is almost equivalent to driving from Toronto, Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia. This will put their migration distances into perspective for my Canadian readers.

Although I didn’t manage to catch an Inconnu this weekend I had fun trying and it gave me an idea for a Wild Fact so I think it was a successful fishing trip.

Have a great day!

Guppy - Photo from Wikicommons

Yesterday we looked at the piranha which we learned can be vicious, as if we didn’t know that already?!? We also learned that they like to hang out in the rivers of South America.  Today we are going to look at another popular fish that can be found throughout the freshwater rivers of South America.  Don’t worry though, the Guppy isn’t nearly as dangerous as the piranha. In fact, I bet  a lot of you had a pet guppy at one time or another. Let’s see if we can learn something new about them, shall we?

There are about 300 species of guppy and as you know they make a great pet since they are beautifully coloured and are fairly easy to take care of.  In captivity they will often live for 3 to 5 years.  Unfortunately the wild isn’t as easy so their life spans are a little shorter when they aren’t living in a bowl.  Guppies are omnivores and will usually feed on algae, brine shrimp and whatever other particles they find floating in the water column.  Yesterday we learned that even the piranha has predators so I would say it is safe to assume that the guppy also has some natural predators.  In fact, they have quite a few but birds and other fish are their biggest threats. For the record, I would not recommend keeping your pet guppy in the same tank as your pet piranha.

Photo from Wikicommons

Generally, fish will mate and the female will then deposit 1000′s of eggs somewhere in the water.  If this isn’t true then the caviar industry has a lot of explaining to do.  The guppy though likes to be different and will actually give birth to live young.  This just means that their eggs hatch inside of them and eventually (about a month later) the female will give birth to about 100 cute, little guppies.  Luckily these babies are able to swim, feed and sense danger immediately.  This is obviously a great survival tactic for a little fish.  Okay, I guess we have time for one more interesting fact.  Did you know that the female guppy is able to get pregnant several times from just one mating session.  Could you imagine how surprised you would be if you just gave birth to a 100 kids and a few hours later you are pregnant again.

Thanks for reading!  I will see you all again tomorrow for another cool Wild Fact!

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.

After wandering the African continent that last three days looking at birds and antelope-like animals, I am getting a little hot and little sweaty.  I figured this would be a perfect time to go for a swim in the deep blue sea. This might be a refreshing plunge but we have to be careful since the fish we are going after is poisonous.  We are going exploring for the beautiful lionfish which is also known as the dragonfish, scorpionfish and butterfly cod.  Let’s go and learn some more about this fish with many names.

The lionfish can be found in the warm waters of the Central Pacific Ocean and it does its best to warn everything in those waters that it is deadly.  This fish has brightly coloured stripes, long and flamboyant pectoral fins and if that weren’t enough, they are generally cranky.  Nothing about this fish invites you into cuddle it.  If something does get too close to the lionfish then they will feel the wrath of 18 venomous, needle-like dorsal fins.  The lionfish is one of the most poisonous fish found on the ocean floor but luckily, they will only use their spines for self-defense.  So if you leave them alone then they won’t bother you.  They don’t need to use their poison to catch fish simply because they are able to blend in very well and have incredibly fast reflexes.  For these reasons shrimp and other fish don’t generally stand a chance against these guys.

So can these fish hurt humans? Well, if we are unfortunate enough to get hit with their venomous spines then we will feel a very painful sting, usually followed by nausea and breathing problems.  The good news is that this venom is rarely fatal for humans.  So if these fish are so tough, do they have any predators? Surprisingly they do have a few predators including large fish such as grouper, eels and of course humans.  Wait! These fish can really hurt humans so why do we play with them? Well folks, the beautiful design and shape of these fish make them ideal for fish tanks.  I personally wouldn’t want a fish that could sting me 18 times with needle-like fins hanging out in my house but that is just me.

I apologize to everyone for the disturbing picture above but I can’t help it if that is what a Viperfish looks like. Doesn’t this fish look like something straight out of a horror movie.  I figured I would end our Deep Sea Adventure on an interesting but frightening note.  It is probably a good time for us to get out of the water with fish like this swimming around.  Don’t worry, next week we will be on land, but is that safe?

As I mentioned, the final fact of the week will be on the Viperfish which is also known as the Fangfish.  I wonder how it got that alternative name? The viperfish is usually a dark silvery blue colour and only about 30 cm (12 inches) long.  Don’t let the small size of this fish fool you though as it was designed to be a predator. In fact, the fangfish is one of the most fierce predators of the deep sea. So what do I mean when I say it was designed to be a predator? Well, I mean evolution built this fish to eat other fish.  For starters, we will look at their teeth.  The viperfish has a large mouth with very large and very sharp teeth.  In fact, their teeth are so big that they don’t actually fit in their mouth. These fangs curve back and extend close to their eye. The viperfish will use these teeth by swimming at full speed towards their prey and simply impaling them with their fangs.  The first vertebrae of this fish is designed to absorb the force it sustains from swimming into their prey at high speeds.  I told you that evolution hand picked the traits to make the viperfish an effective killer.  As if this wasn’t bad enough, the fangfish uses bio-luminescence to attract their prey to them. Similar to the Anglerfish, these guys have a light attached to an extended fin ray which they can flicker off and on.  As well, they have tiny photophores on the sides of their body.  These lights basically invite the other fish in the area to come and see what is happening.  I promise you they will regret that decision.

Well this seems like a really good time to get our feet out of the water.  Let’s take a break and head for the land on Monday.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Only two days left of the Deep Sea Adventure but I promise the next two fish will end the week the right way.  As well, I have thought about the theme for the second week of holidays but I won’t tell you until next Monday!  All right, fine, I will give you a hint.  I will tell you that each Wild Fact will be a combination of a couple of animals.  That isn’t until next week so lets finish this week first.

Wild Fact #887 is going to talk about the Icefish which is appropriately named since you will mostly find them around Antarctica. These fish survive in temperatures from -2 to 4 degrees Celsius (28.4 to 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit). I know you are all astute readers so you may be wondering how the temperature of the water can be colder than the freezing point.  No, these fish are not living in ice although it might feel like it.  Actually, the dissolved salt lowers the freezing point in seawater. I won’t get into the chemistry of it but the freezing point of salt water is lower than that of freshwater systems.

As you can imagine, these fish have some interesting adaptations that allow them to live in such frigid waters. The first is the presence of an antifreeze glycoprotein in their blood and body fluids.  Obviously, this is important as it ensures the bodily fluids of the icefish don’t turn into, well, ice. For the record most species in the freezing waters of the Antarctic can create this antifreeze.  The second major adaptation the icefish has evolved is actually a reduction in hemoglobin, which is responsible for attaching and transporting oxygen throughout the blood.  The blood of most animals contain about 45% hemoglobin while the icefish only has about 1%.  They don’t need as much as other animals since one of the features of extremely cold water is a high oxygen content.  There is so much oxygen in the water, the icefish simply absorbs what they need to survive.  Well, I don’t know about the rest of you but I am getting a chill just from thinking about all of this so I am off to go and warm up.

Have a great day!

Welcome back to Wild Facts Deep Sea Adventures where bizarre fish is our specialty. Looking at the above picture, you might think that we are talking about animals on other planets. Believe it or not though, this odd looking fish survives about 2600 meters (8500 feet) below sea level. So what do you name a creepy looking fish such as this one?

Well it is technically called a Chimaera, however, people have named it the Ghost Shark!  Oooh Scary! These unique fish are actually related to sharks and rays as they share the same cartilaginous body. On an evolutionary scale though the the Ghost Shark branched off from the normal sharks about 400 million years ago. Basically, this just shows that they are not twin brothers or anything like that.

In fact some of the most interesting attributes of the Chimaera are the differences between them and regular sharks.  For instance, the male Ghost Shark has a retractable sex appendage on their forehead.  You read that right folks but don’t worry, this appendage is just an additional clasper. How embarrassing would that be if they forgot to retract it before leaving the house.  As well, the Chimaera has a venomous spine located just in front of their dorsal fin (the fin on their back).  I am going to guess that they evolved this defense mechanism to take care of the other fish that were making fun of the retractable appendage on their forehead! Finally, the Ghost Shark is able to use their long flat nose to detect electrical impulses along the ocean floor.  This allows them to use their nose like a metal detector to find all of those yummy prey species buried in the dirt.  I wonder if they get excited when it beeps only to find out they found a Pepsi can.

Well that does it for me today!  Don’t forget to tune in tomorrow for another Deep Sea Adventure!!

Photo by Garry McCarthy

While I am enjoying myself on my much needed vacation (at least I hope I am enjoying myself) we are going to learn another interesting fact about a crazy ocean fish.  If you are anything like me then you may be familiar with the freshwater sunfish, which is a small fish that have provided children hours and hours of entertainment.  If this is your idea of a sunfish then today’s fact should impress you.  The Ocean Sunfish isn’t related to the freshwater kind.

By looking at the picture you will see one of the biggest differences between these two species of fish.  The freshwater sunfish that I am use to seeing in Ontario are about 9 inches long and weigh less than a pound.  On the other side of the proverbial coin is the Ocean Sunfish (also known as the Mola mola) which can be as long as 14 feet and weigh about 5000 pounds. Imagine your kids face when they are sitting on the dock at your cottage and they pull up a 5000 pound sunfish! Just to put that into perspective, that is about the weight of a small pickup truck.

As you can understand, the ocean sunfish is the largest bony fish on the planet.  Fish such as sharks and rays are cartilaginous fish so they don’t count.  Interestingly enough the Mola mola can be as tall as they are long which gives them a rather circular appearance.  This gigantic fish feed mainly on jellyfish but will also feed on small fish and microscopic plant matter floating around in the water.  Unfortunately, the ocean sunfish has a small mouth, which is odd considering the size of the animal.  In order to feed with this beak-like mouth the Mola mola will actually suck the food in and then it spit out over and over again.  This allows the large sunfish to tear apart its food so it can easily eat the smaller pieces.  That might be gross but you have to admit, that is pretty clever.  Just for fun, the next time you are on a date, I want you to try this feeding technique.  Let me know how long the date lasts!

Ocean Sunfish Fast Fact: When this sunfish first hatches it is about one-tenth of an inch long.  Now I want you to think about this for a second. This is a fish that can end up being 14 feet long and starts out smaller than an inch.  Impressive!  Even more impressive is the fact that the Mola mola will weigh 60 million times more as an adult then it did when it was born.  Just so you know, most of us don’t even weigh 30 times more than we did when we were born! If I were a Ocean Sunfish I would weigh about 540 million pounds right now. Don’t you just hate that extra holiday weight! Well I am off to call Weight Watchers so have a good one!