Piranhas have a notorious reputation around the world, being mostly known for the ability to chow down on fully grown cattle and leaving nothing but their skeletal remains when a group or three is famished.
But what most people don’t realize is that piranhas aren’t automatically searching for humans to hunt and consume. Humans aren’t their prime targets and aren’t usually on the menu. Instead, piranhas are mostly scavengers, where some species eat fish and fins off of other fishes. They also eat plants like seeds and fruit. And of course, they are predators, but they don’t chase for large animals, instead opting for fish that are only slightly larger than itself or much much smaller.
But the danger that these fish present is very real. Groups of piranha devouring animals much larger than itself are not myths, and under desperate times, they can and will target humans. Human attacks are not unheard of for these fishes, and as such, proper precaution must be taken, especially when swimming in waters that have these little fishies about.
Don’t panic
Most people don’t usually swim in piranha-infested waters willingly, instead, most people find themselves in such waters when they’re riding a boat but it capsizes or they are thrown off somehow, forcing them to land on water.
Now, like any other wild animal situation, carefully analyzing your environment will be key to making sure that you get back to safety with nary a cut from a piranha bite on your body. Unless you’re practically right next to the shore that you can climb out of the water in 10 seconds or less, you’re better off taking in the environment then taking it from there.
Don’t thrash and splash
Panicking will not only make it difficult for you to properly ascertain your next move logically, but it can cause unwanted attention towards your location. This is because piranhas are attracted to splashing and panicked movement in the same way that sharks are, as it is basically telling every predator in the area that you are in trouble, giving the opportunistic fish a reason to attack.
And it’s not just when thrashing about randomly as well. For instance, loud splashing noises from certain swimming styles might also cause piranhas to come swimming about, especially with all that noise. Instead, make your movement slow and deliberate to minimize the chance that you grab the attention of the piranhas swimming around.
Protect your hands and feet
When people are attacked by piranhas, the most common places that get injured are their hands and feet. This is because those parts of the body are the most exposed, as piranhas would need to chew through your clothes before getting to your skin in other situations.
As such, you want to make sure that you’re wearing gear before embarking on a trip that might have piranha-infested waters. Even regular shoes can help protect your feet against the piranhas, and as for your hands, try not to dip them underwater unless it’s an emergency.
Piranha bites are still powerful, and may still be able to tear through your shoes or gloves, but it will certainly sting much less and reduce what might otherwise be a potentially dangerous wound.
Be very silent
When trying to move through the water, try to make as little noise as possible and be cautious. The piranhas that you are watching out for, the red-bellied piranhas, have excellent hearing which they use to locate their prey and communicate with other members of their group. If one of them finds you and thinks that you might be a tasty meal, it is sure to find the others to try to get a bite out of you.
This means not only making as little noise while moving, but minimizing (or completely muffling) your voice, which means no shouting or talking. Any noise is noise that might point the piranhas in your direction.
Move back to shore as fast as possible if bitten
If all else fails and the piranhas end up spotting you and swarming you, then get away and swim to shore as fast as possible. You might get a couple of bites on the way, but right now, your priority is to escape the jaws of the hungry fish. You’ll want to move as fast as possible as well. If the piranhas manage to wound your body, it’s more than likely that you’ll start bleeding on the water, attracting even more piranhas to your location, since piranhas are attracted to blood. Make your way to shore as fast as possible.
Once you manage to make it to shore, seek medical aid instantly. When you have multiple wounds, that means you have lots of blood spilling out. However, the biggest problem here is the potential for infection. River water isn’t exactly the cleanest and getting even a wound or two can be very dangerous in unfamiliar territory.
In other words, bacterial infections are your biggest threat when you’re finally out of the water, and you may need to seek medical aid to make sure that you weren’t infected by something potentially deadly.