Piranhas might seem like tiny sharks: Hungry all the time for anything to come up to them so that they can tear into their flesh as their next meal, whether it’s a tiny little fish or a giant of a cow walking up to the river. These fish don’t discriminate, right?
Well, that’s only true if they’re hungry. Luckily, in most seasons, piranha have pretty much everything they need to survive through scavenging as well as eating plants. That’s right, piranhas are actually omnivores, so even if they might bite down on humans, you’re not their number one priority.
Still, their reputation precedes them. Even if you’re not their targets, this doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous anymore. Occasionally, they may still bite humans, whether out of curiosity or something else. One must be extra cautious to make sure that they don’t find themselves in a sticky situation in a river filled to the brim with piranhas.
In this article, we will discuss what steps you should take to avoid such scenarios and to make sure that you don’t accidentally get turned into a piranha’s next meal.
Avoid bodies of water during the dry season
South America is where piranhas are indigenous. The Amazon, specifically, enjoys great amounts of rain per year. The amount covers the entire forest and provides the piranhas with enough sustenance and food to last. It especially helps that, as mentioned earlier, piranhas are omnivores and scavengers, and so they are very much spoiled for choice in what they can eat. Plants, other small fish, while certain piranha species’ will go for the scales on other fish.
But this can only go on for so long. The rainy season will not last forever, and when the rains go away, the waters start drying up. Yes, that includes the waters that these piranhas inhabit. This leads to groups of piranha being forced into tighter spaces due to lack of water. But the even bigger concern is the fact that there is a massive lack of food sources in the area during this time, causing the piranhas to starve.
At this point, these piranhas are desperate enough to eat anything – including humans, and so stepping on these waters during such seasons might cause one to be seriously injured or worse from the hungry piranhas.
While it’s usually a good idea to not swim during other seasons as well, dry season is really when you shouldn’t even think of swimming, not unless you want to dive in with a bunch of mini-sharks that haven’t eaten in days.
Make sure that any wounds are properly bandaged
Ideally, you won’t be swimming in piranha-infested waters when you have any wounds at all, healing or otherwise, but if you really must, at least ensure that they are covered properly. This is not only to protect the vulnerable parts of your body especially when piranhas might attack, but to ensure that your wounds don’t actually become infected from whatever bacteria or viruses might be hidden in the water. Bodies of water around the jungle aren’t always at their cleanest, and as such, your biggest enemy here might not even be the piranhas, but the microorganisms in where these piranhas live.
Ensure that you aren’t bleeding
Like with wounds, you want to make sure that you’re not bleeding from any part of your body. This is due to the fact that piranhas are very much attracted to blood and will easily be able to seek out your presence if you allow yourself to bleed in waters with groups of piranha swimming about. Not to mention the fact that your body is unprotected from whatever microorganisms might be swimming around the water as well. You’re in trouble on the inside and the outside!
Don’t swim on or near piranha fishing spots
This is just common sense: You don’t swim in bodies of water when you know that there are people fishing nearby. And not just because you might accidentally get hooked by their rods or you might disrupt their fishing, it’s also because the people who are fishing are likely using bait to fish and may potentially attract piranhas to the area. They may even be fishing for a piranha!
If piranhas notice you swimming about, they might try to go in for a bite, or accidentally target you instead. To add on to that, fish are known to struggle when caught by those who are fishing, meaning they will splash around in an attempt to get away. This kind of behavior will also attract piranhas to the location.
Make as little noise as possible when swimming
As mentioned with the splashing fish around, if you’re going to be swimming in piranha-infested waters, make sure that you draw as little attention to yourself as possible. This means when swimming, you swim in a straight line, and you don’t splash around at all. This is because piranhas have excellent hearing, which they use to communicate with each other for amazing and efficient teamwork.
The less noise you make in the water, the less chance you’ll have a piranha trying to bite its way towards you.