# Have Piranha Fish ACTUALLY Eaten Humans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 28, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966 "2003-06-28T13:13:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966/1 "2003-06-28T13:13:13Z")
Everybody has seen the films-usually of a dead chicken or pig, thrown into an amazon lagoon…then the water literally BOILS as hundreds of these fish swarm around the corpse and devour every scrap of meat! There is no disputing it-a school of these fish can strip the bones of fleah in minutes…but is there any actual documented evidence of HUMANS being killed by these fish? I have been to the Amazon region, and the local people fear these fish…but I have never heard of an actual attack on humans! Anybody have proof (one way or the other)? Also, have such aggressive , meat-eating fish evolved on OTHER continents? (I’ve never hear of such fish in Asia or africa).😕 ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966/2 "2003-06-28T13:16:29Z")
Yes, I remeber when a boat ran aground on the amazon not to long ago, about a hundred people died most of them from piranhas. That said there’re only really dangerous in the dry season when they are closely packed together and hungry, throughout the rest of the year they’re pretty harmless ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966/3 "2003-06-28T13:29:39Z")
Here’s some proof: > [@](#): > > In September 1981, an overloaded ferry-boat arrived at Obidos, Brazil, and the 500 passengers crowded to the shore sid as it drew up to the dock. The boat capsized, depositing all aboard into a stretch of the Amazon which happened to be a breeding ground for piranhas. As the screaming passengers struggled to reach the shore, shoals of piranhas ripped into them, attacking again and again in a feeding frenzy which left more than 300 dead, while those who came out of the crimson waters alive suffered horrific bites all over their bodies. From the Fortean Times, orig. source The Daily Star, sept. 1981. ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966/4 "2003-06-28T13:51:56Z")
> [@](#): > > From the Fortean Times, orig. source The Daily Star, sept. 1981. LOL MC … didn’t the Daily Star once carry a headline “My Son Turned Into A Fishfinger”, or words to that effect? 😃 Julie ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966/5 "2003-06-28T13:56:12Z")
That was the Daily Sport and I don’t find anything funny in Aliens turning a poor young boy into a breaded fish slice, it was a tragic story. ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966/6 "2003-06-28T16:03:56Z")
> [@](#): > > That was the Daily Sport and I don’t find anything funny in Aliens turning a poor young boy into a breaded fish slice, it was a tragic story. I’m sorry MC … I was forgetting myself there. I kinda lost my sense of compassion the day Fredddie Starr Ate My Hamster. 😉 Julie 😃 ---
**Author:** ![rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rabbit)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966/7 "2003-06-28T16:32:04Z")
there was an article in National Geographic (a little more reliable source perhaps?) about the piranha. In one part I remember them talking about it (attacks on humans), and the author even being witness to a fisherman getting a chunk bitten out of his hand by the fish (apparently they are quite tasty to eat, and are actively fished as a food source themselves). But Im fairly certain it made mention of human casualties, and also of how infrequent they were. Sorry I cant remember the actual specifics/dates. But it wouldve been early 80’s at the latest. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966/8 "2003-06-28T17:25:41Z")
Pirahna _fish]_? As opposed to Pirahna turkeys and Pirahna Snails? 😃 Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![hazygreyeyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e480ec/32.png) [@hazygreyeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazygreyeyes)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966/9 "2003-06-28T20:25:08Z")
I assume you were asking if there were other examples of _freshwater_ aggresive fish, because there are obviously countless examples of aggresive fish in the world’s oceans like barracuda, many species of sharks, rays and eels. So, if that was your question, the answer is ‘yes’, there are actually many species of aggresive fish found in freshwater locale, and often, as with piranhas, they are bred in captivity for domestic aquariums. Examples are puffers, which are found all over the world near Asia, Africa and I believe also S. America, there are angelfish, cichlids (such as red oscars) and Siamese fighting fish. I seriously doubt, however, that any of these fish will take a bite out of your hand in their natural habitat or in captivity, but that I don’t really know. I’d assume that as with piranhas, if they were large enough, starved enough and you presented your finger, per ce, as a tasty enough meal like a worm, you might get bitten. It seems like I’ve heard of oscars biting their owners from time to time. But even a piranha in captivity if fed regularly (as it should be, otherwise that’s just plain neglectful) is most decidedly a safe exotic pet. ---
**Author:** ![labboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@labboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/labboy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966/10 "2003-06-28T20:51:19Z")
The national geographic mentioned above had pictures of children with quarter size bites missing from their legs. ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966/11 "2003-06-28T23:37:28Z")
Most any fish can become aggresive enough to attack even something the size of us… dwarf cichlids will go apeshit on your finger if you try and get at their eggs. So will gouramies, and a slew of others (of course many of these same fish will also promptly _eat_ those same babies they defended with their lives once they are big enough to fend for themselves). I’ve beeb bitten by an oscar - bastard drew blood too. To get fish to attack you can do one of three things which will usually work given the species and conditions: 1. Get them very hungry to the point where they forget about being cautious, drop in a little food as well as your fingers (that’s how I got bit by the oscar). 2. Find a species that defends it’s nest/eggs/young and stick your hand in the water trying to get at them (how I got attacked by a moonlight gouramie). 3. find a fairly large species with a defensive mechanism, corner it and try to grab it (how I got zapped by an electric catfish). #1 is the easiest, #2 is equally easy but is seasonal and depends on the species, #3 is hardest and will usually just result in a quick bite/shock to distract you during which they swim away. Most people will however never be bitten by a fish of any kind… they aren’t the most dangerous creatures on earth (plus them living in a different medium than us tends to limit opportunities for trouble). I’ve kept pirahnas as well, and it takes really specific conditions for them to become aggresive. They are the only fish I’ve kept yet that will litterally “play dead” - lay on their sides at the bottom of the tank for hours on end when spooked. More than once my mom was about to flush them before I checked. They most certainly _could_ take chunks out of people and enough of them _could_ reduce a person to a skeleton - they have the equipment and temperment. However a large colony of ants _could_ also do the same thing, and they’re not considered man-eaters. Oh yeah I read that Nat. Geo. article too, and they did have a lot of nice photos including scars. ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966/12 "2003-06-28T23:41:29Z")
I’ve been bitten by fish loads of times, I rember swimming in a sheltered bay on the North Coast of Cyprus while a particular species were nesting, I must of been bitten 50 times. Luckily the fish didn’t have any teeth and was quite small so it was like recieving a light pinch. ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966/13 "2003-06-28T23:41:29Z")
I’ve been bitten by fish loads of times, I rember swimming in a sheltered bay on the North Coast of Cyprus while a particular species were nesting, I must of been bitten 50 times. Luckily the fish didn’t have any teeth and was quite small so it was like recieving a light pinch. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966/14 "2003-06-29T01:30:41Z")
Okay, this isn’t necessarily the most authoritative cite in the world, but \*Uncle John’s Ahh-Inspiring Bathroom Reader \* (15th edition) says, in one of the little marginal factoids at the bottom of a page (p. 154): \*\*Number of documented deaths-by-piranha in human history: not even one. \*\* They don’t provide a source for this fact, so it’s a little suspect. However, although I have found a few errors here and there in Uncle John’s works (volumes of which have long been available in my bathroom library), for the most part I have found them to be pretty accurate and reliable. So take this for what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-piranha-fish-actually-eaten-humans/184966/15 "2003-06-29T03:29:06Z")
When I worked at a pet store we had a guy bring a [Wolf Fish](http://pictures.care2.com/view/1/984249800) . It seems the darn thing had bitten his hand, and he needed stitches. To be fair, the fish was hungry.