Are piranhas ravenous man-eaters, just waiting for you to dip a toe into the water before they swarm in for supper, or are they timid, docile creatures who subsist on plants, carrion, and the occasional nip off a passing fish? A remake of the classic seventies schlock horror film Piranha will no doubt reopen the debate, so it's worth ferreting out fact from fiction when it comes to these toothy little critters. First of all, the upcoming Not surprisingly, researchers are divided on the topic. Piranha attacks make for gripping stories, especially since Teddy Roosevelt came back from a 1913 hunting expedition in Brazil with a tale of a cow being reduced to its skeleton in minutes by a marauding school of piranhas. But the situation was a bit of a set-up: hoping to give the president a good show, locals had arranged nets in the river, entrapping hundreds of starving fish who were ready to pounce on the first source of protein that came near the water. And, ichthyologists point out, the majority of piranha species avoid mammals altogether and subsist on plants, fruits, and other fish. That's all fine and good, but what about the seemingly-credible reports of a 1981 incident in which piranhas devoured 300 people when their boat capsized near Obidos, Brazil? If there's a shred of truth to it, then the closest we're getting to the Amazon is the infinity-edge pool that overlooks it from our eco-luxe lodge.
by
Victor Ozols
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Return to » Ichthyological Travel: Discover For Yourself If Piranhas Get a Bad Rap
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