Catfish Hunt Pigeons: France Has Fish Eating Birds [WATCH]
Catfish hunt pigeons in France by lunging their huge bodies toward the birds found bathing in the waters. These group of European catfish have apparently developed a taste for these birds. Yum.
A researcher from Paul Sabatier University, Julien Cucherousset, heard from local fisherman that in River Tarn of Southwestern France catfish hunt pigeons in addition to other prey. He and his team set up cameras to capture the amazing predator in action.
A group of catfish in River Tarn are seen swimming close to a flock of pigeons on land. When a catfish gets close enough, it lunges forward to grab the bird's neck and drag it back to the water to swallow its meal.
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"These particular catfish have taken to lunging out of the water, grabbing a pigeon, and then wriggling back into the water to swallow their prey," the researchers wrote in their study. "In the process, they temporarily strand themselves on land for a few seconds."
The hunting footage is so fierce that the researcher dubbed the carnivorous catfish as "freshwater killer whales," after killer whales in Argentina that swim close to shore and snatch sea lions on the beach.
The catfish, which measure 1 to 1.5 meters long, have a success rate of 28 percent. The statistics are based on the 54 attacks that researchers filmed in 2011.
The researchers collected samples of catfish that hunted pigeons in France and found that they also snacked on crayfish, and smaller fish. Those catfish survived off pigeons had a smaller diet of fish.
Still, Cucherousset is clueless as to why these catfish began to strand themselves on land to kill the pigeons.
WATCH AMAZING, CREEPY VIDEO OF CATFISH HUNTING PIGEONS BELOW:
