- Apr 10, 2019 Piranha show signs of coordinated communication during feeding frenzies. The fish on the outer part of the shoal will give way for those in the inner part of the shoal to have a bite. When they spot an animal that looks sick and weak, or even dead, one fish in the shoal will move swiftly have a bite and see how the animal reacts.
- May 19, 2011 But after the first piranha goes in for a bite, the rest of the school attacks in a full force feeding frenzy. Watch as this fish is stripped down to the bare bones in mere seconds. Would you swim.
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Home>Animal Kingdom>Animal Records > Most Ferocious
Most Ferocious: Piranha
Pygocentrus nattereri
When a school of piranha are in a feeding frenzy the water appears to boil and churn red with blood. They attack with such ferocity that they strip an animal of its flesh within a matter of minutes, even taking bites out of each other in the process.
There are approximately 20 species of piranha found living in the Amazon River, with only four or five of them posing any danger. Most piranha species are quite harmless and docile, but the ones with the nasty reputation for aggressive behavior are the red-bellied piranha, Pygocentrus nattereri.
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Adult piranha will eat just about anything - other fish, sick and weakened cattle, even parts of people. Sickly cattle that have stooped their heads down to drink from the river have been grabbed by the mouth and nose and pulled into the water, completely devoured minutes later. As wicked as it all sounds, piranha have a useful function in the Amazonian jungles just like any other predators in the wild. They are part of the checks and balances Mother Nature employs to eliminate the weak and sick so only the strong survive.
Razor Sharp Teeth
Piranhas are world-famous for their razor-sharp teeth. Native peoples of South America will catch the piranha and use their teeth to make tools and weapons. Even the fisherman who catch these vicious little predators have to be careful when the fish is out of water. A single piranha out of water is still dangerous enough to take off the flesh, or the odd toe, from an unwary fisherman.
Predator Becomes Prey
As ferocious and fearsome as the piranhas are, they are not invulnerable. As young the piranhas are a tasty part of many other creatures' diet. As voracious adults the piranha feed on young herons that fall from the trees while learning to fly, or young caimans (a type of small alligator) that are too little to defend themselves. When the floodplains of the Amazon run dry during the dry season the piranha are stranded in isolated lagoons, where they languish and die from lack of oxygen. The adult herons will then feed on the piranha that once ate their young. Caimans will feast on the piranhas that ate their young kin, as they lay dying in their shrinking pools. Such is the circle of life.
Pet Piranhas?
Believe it or not, there are people who actually keep piranhas as 'pets'. Piranhas aren't good pets in the traditional sense because you can't hold or pet them, and they aren't affectionate. Piranha owners still must be extremely careful of the fish's sharp teeth and aggressive nature. Keeping them well fed is probably the key to keeping them mellow.
People who fancy piranhas as pets may be more attracted to the grisly reputation and aggressive manner of these world-class predators, perhaps keeping them for their 'entertainment' value. That's O.K. - it's human nature to be fascinated with morbid and gruesome creatures. But piranhas are also very beautiful fish. As long as anyone desires to take a creature out of the wild and bring into captivity they must take the responsibility of treating it with respect and good care.
Dec. 25, 2013: A man is treated after he was bit by a palometa, a type of piranha, while wading in the Parana River in Rosario, Argentina. Lifeguards director Federico Cornier said Thursday that thousands of bathers were cooling off from 100 degree temperatures in the Parana River on Wednesday when bathers suddenly came to them complaining of bite marks on their hands and feet. He blamed the attack on palometas, a type of piranha, big, voracious and with sharp teeth that can really bite. (AP/La Capital)
A piranha feeding frenzy in Argentina reportedly has left at least 70 people injured, including seven children who lost parts of their fingers and toes.
The attack took place on Christmas morning off a beach in the Parana River, near the city of Rosario.
Gustavo Centurion, a medical official, said the attack was “very aggressive,” according to Sky News. At least 70 people were injured, The Associated Press reports.
Local newspaper La Capital reported that a 7-year-old girl had part of her finger amputated after suffering bites from the fish, which were described as a piranha cousin called palometas.
Other swimmers suffered cuts to their ankles, fingers and hands, and a boy was left with an open fracture, The Telegraph reports. Swimmers were seen racing out of the water, bleeding from wounds, while the parents of children in the water rushed in to bring them to safety.
A Piranha Feeding Frenzy 2
People who continued to swim at the beach despite the danger were forced out by police, according to The Telegraph.
But Paramedic Alberto Manino told the Todo Noticias channel that it was so hot that within a half-hour, many people went back to the water, The Associated Press reports. A heat wave in Argentina is currently pushing temperatures up to around 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Piranha Feeding Frenzy Snake
Authorities believe a patch of debris left by local fishermen attracted the fish to the beach.
A Piranha Feeding Frenzy Images
Piranhas, a South American fish, often swim in schools and are known for attacking other fish and sometimes humans with their sharp teeth.