Piranhas Facts
Piranhas Facts
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| Interesting Piranhas Facts: |
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| Piranhas have silver body covered with red patches that serve as camouflage in muddy waters which they inhabit. |
| Piranha can be 5.5-17 inches in length and weight about 7.7 pounds. |
| Most people think that piranhas have insatiable appetite for blood, but they are actually omnivores animals (eat animals and plants). They usually eat snails, fish, aquatic animals and plants, seed and fruit. They will feast on mammals and birds when they fall into the water, which doesn't happen that often. |
| Their sharp and pointed teeth are arranged in a single row. They can bite through hook made of silver. |
| Their jaw bone is so strong, that it can crush a human hand in 5-10 seconds. |
| Local people use piranha's teeth to make weapon and other tools. |
| Just like sharks, piranhas are equipped with special sensory organs which help them detect blood in the water. |
| Piranhas are cannibals (eat their own species). They will attack and eat other piranhas when other meat sources are not available. |
| Scary movies represent piranhas as ferocious man-eaters that can eat human body in just a few seconds. Although they live and feed in large groups, piranhas need more time to finish large prey. |
| Groups of piranhas are known as "schools". School consists of 1000 of fish. |
| Dolphins, crocodiles and turtles are the biggest enemies of piranhas. |
| Mating takes place during rainy season in April and May. |
| Females can lay up to 5000 eggs. |
| Since both males and females take care of eggs, 90% of eggs survive until hatching. |
| They live up to 25 years in the wild and 10-20 years in captivity. |
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