Is a school of piranhas really able to devour a human in minutes?
You may have seen a movie - or heard about cases - where a school of nervous piranhas attack an unlucky citizen and reduce the poor guy to a mere skeleton in a matter of minutes, right? While this kind of story has earned fish a reputation, do they really like to snack on human flesh and devour an entire person so quickly? There are controversies ...
According to Karl Smallwood of the Today I Found Out portal, piranhas have no interest in humans at all, and there are countless records of brave subjects who got into waters infested by "killer" fish without being caught. even nibble.
By the way, according to Karl, to prove that these animals are harmless, a tropical fish expert named Herbert Axelrod even went into a pool filled with the most dangerous red piranhas, wearing only a bathing suit and holding a bloody piece of meat. in front of the body with a hook. The educated animals ate the meat offered and left Axelrod's "carnona" completely intact.
Bad reputation
Although piranhas are known for their extremely aggressive behavior and voracious appetite - especially for the tender meat of unsuspecting prey - they are incredibly shy and omnivorous, meaning they eat anything.
In fact, instead of attacking, piranhas, even the most carnivorous types, prefer to feed on the carcass of dead animals - rather than risk being attacked by prey. And when they seek live prey to devour, they usually go after worms, insects, and small fish.
In addition, piranhas do not form schools to attack other animals, but to protect themselves from other predators. They are far from the top of the food chain and are common prey to other animals, including alligators, birds, porpoises, other fish and, of course, humans.
Fish Food
In addition to the bold demonstration by Herbert Axelrod we described earlier, studies have shown that piranhas show nervousness and fear when they are alone and even tend to hide in the presence of humans. As a group, they are less shy, but still behave like any school of fish - and tend to keep their distance whenever possible.
However, it is important to remember that piranhas have sharp teeth such as needles, muscular and nimble bodies, one of the most powerful bites among fish (relative to body size) and are incredibly well suited for tearing the skin and even cutting through bones - like those of human fingers, for example.
With respect to attacks on people, as they usually occur in rural and isolated areas, incidents are rarely properly documented, so it is almost impossible to estimate how many occur annually. My father even took a nibble on his foot on one occasion - luckily, the injury wasn't serious! -, and we never report the case. And when episodes are reported, those involved often overstate the details.
Hundreds of attacks on humans are estimated to occur every year, but they are usually like what my father suffered, that is, an isolated bite - tearing a piece of meat at most. And almost always, the incidents are not related to obtaining food, but rather as a warning to scare those who are too close to the territory where mating occurs or where females lay their eggs.
Larger incidents are extremely rare and usually occur under very specific circumstances. Most occur during drought periods, when food availability is lower and piranhas become more aggressive. But considering that these fish eat just about everything, it is very difficult for them to get very hungry. Normally, when a human corpse appears with piranha bites, the person is already dead.
Hunger Attacks
Now that we've explained the behavior of piranhas and the rarity of human incidents, let's suppose the perfect conditions for a bloodthirsty attack are given! The drought has been harsh, the fish have been trapped in a small lake for weeks and exceptionally hungry. Then a bloody fellow stumbles in, stumbles, and falls headlong into the water. What would happen?
Depending on how hungry the piranhas are, it is estimated that it would take between 300 and 500 fish to devour a human being completely to the bone in about 5 minutes. However, if the animals aren't really, really hungry, they'll probably just prefer to ignore the blood-covered guy - and only care about his little body after he's quite dead.
Interesting anecdote
One of those responsible for spreading the “rumor” that fish are avid people-eaters was none other than US President Theodore Roosevelt. He made an expedition to Brazil in 1913, and spent some time exploring the forests of our country. For on one of his wanderings Roosevelt watched a macabre spectacle: a group of fishermen pushed a (live) cow into a piranha-infested river.
The school smashed the animal's body right in front of Roosevelt's horrified eyes, and he described the event in detail in his popular book “Through the Brazilian Wilderness”. What the president did not know was that the naughty fishermen had for several weeks blocked the part of the river where the piranhas were, leaving the poor women starving!
