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Deadly Piranhas Stalk the Amazon River in Large Groups

Did you know that a piranha's sharp and pointy teeth help them bite off chunks of flesh from their prey? The powerful jaw of the piranha helps it catch and grab onto its prey. These creatures travel in groups called schools, making the piranha strong attackers and defenders.

Piranhas can see in the dark and can detect the color red from far distances. There are more than 30 different species of piranhas that vary in size and shape. They usually grow between 15 and 60 centimeters. Piranhas can lay about 500 eggs within a year and are found only in freshwaters in South America, such as the Amazon River.

The piranha is small but powerful and can swim up to 25 miles an hour. Crocodiles, pink dolphins, and turtles are common predators of the piranhas. A piranha can eat about 2.49 grams per day. It would take them 500 minutes to eat a human and ten minutes to eat an animal the size of a small rabbit.

Piranhas usually eat fish but can also eat birds, insects, and seeds. Surprisingly, some can even attack sharks. Everything combined makes the piranhas the tiny predator of the freshwaters. Would you go for a swim in the Amazon River?

[Source: The Encyclopedia of Animals]

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