Posted on 01/10/2014 3:28:08 PM PST by BBell
Researchers in South Africa have captured video of a tigerfish leaping out of the water and taking down a bird. Stories of the African tigerfish preying on flying birds have circulated for decades, but this marks the first documented case of any type of fish displaying this method of predation.
"The whole action of jumping and catching the swallow in flight happens so incredibly quickly that after we first saw it, it took all of us a while to really fully comprehend what we had just seen," said Nico Smit, director of the Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Smit and his team observed the tigerfish's crazy predation technique at Mapungubwe National Park, in the northernmost stretch of South Africa. The researchers spent 15 days at the park studying the tigerfish's migration habits and how they use their habitat. The team wasn't trying to document the fish's predation technique and were "never really convinced by the anecdotal reports." But when they did see it, "the first reaction was one of pure joy, because we realized that we were spectators to something really incredible and unique," said Smit.
And they didn't just see it once. During the 15-day survey, the team witnessed about 300 successful tigerfish attacks on barn swallows. Although the attacks seem to be fairly frequent, they have gone unnoticed until now because the study of freshwater fish in Africa is limited, according to Smit. "We hope that our findings will really focus the attention on the importance of basic freshwater research, and specifically fish behavior," Smit said.
The tigerfish is the only fish documented eating flying birds, but catfish in France have been observed swimming up to pigeons at the water's edge and attacking them. The catfish temporarily strand themselves on land for a few seconds before attacking, a predation technique also used by some bottlenose dolphins and killer whales.
Smit and his team detailed their findings in the article "First observation of African tigerfish Hydrocynus vittatus predating on barn swallows Hirundo rustic in flight," published in the Journal of Fish Biology.
Video at link.
“Knock out game”, african fish style
I got about 10 pop-up, with my pop-up blocker on. Not for me.
How would that (fish predation of birds) have evolved? Ideas, anybody?
Perhaps the creation of a species by an Intelligent Designer?
sWALLOWS FEED ON INSECTS, MANY INSECTS HATCH FROM WATER...ASK ANY TROUT....DAMN CAPS LOCK...swallows fly over water, fish matches speed, GULP. Swallows hereabouts also pick duck feathers off the water in nesting season. I’d bet that somewhere the largemouth bass have figured it out.
But I’d just say it’s learned behaviour.
Where did that fish come from?
How would that (fish predation of birds) have evolved? Ideas, anybody?
Skimmers(birds) fly with a bill in the water to catch small fish on the surface (in lakes)... and rivers.. ocean...
Fish may gobble them up as well... i.e. reverse skimming..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7USpTc6MUoc
Oh my God... I remember that episode.
This beast is a goliath tigerfish, pulled from the Congo River in Africa by British biologist Jeremy Wade, host of the Animal Planet series “River Monsters.”
The best fishing show on television
Love those barn swallows,they keep the bugs under control.
Always enjoy mowing hay fields in the summer with 40
or 50 swallows following the tractor.
Lots better than having a wild turkey fly up
at ya thats been sitting on a nest hidden in the grass.
Thank you.
rabbits in the hay fields are killed a lot...hubby came home with the tractor after cutting hay and had a rabbit across the tractor like you’d carry a deer on your car. Ground hog holes in hay fields are nasty and can tip a wagon over. Nasty way to get hurt if you end up under the wagon. I loved the different smells different fields put out. One of the fields smelled like apples, but no apple tree’s in the field...
Anything that works evolves. The first one to catch a bird got bigger and stronger, had more fishies, qed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.