How fast can Piranha 'meat' a cow's head?

Piranhas have razor-sharp teeth and often move in schools, but can they really "strip" their prey in just a few minutes?

Kristine Grzenda, head of behavior and welfare at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans, USA, said that many Piranhas are omnivores. For example, the Red-bellied Piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) - which often attacks humans - tends to eat fish, crustaceans, insects, plants, fruits, nuts and seeds. Some individuals in this species were also found to have pieces of bird, snake and small mammal meat in their stomachs.

Piranhas can be found in groups of less than 10 to 100 fish.

"The Red-bellied Piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) is omnivorous, while other species such as the Tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum), a close relative of the Piranha, are herbivores.

Kristine Grzenda said Piranhas can be found in groups of less than 10 to 100 fish, but this is how they protect themselves (in herds) rather than hunting. "They have a place in the food chain as both predator and prey," she said . However, like other animals, piranhas can become more aggressive if their food source They become gradually scarce.

Allison Waltz-Hill, senior fishkeeping specialist at the New England Aquarium's Temperate Gallery, USA, told Live Science that a piranha can move and consume prey quickly.

"Imagine, an average adult red-bellied Piranha weighing 541 grams, can eat about 12 grams of food in one meal and that meal takes about 30 seconds. But, in the case of an extreme Piranha When hungry, they can eat 68 grams of food in the same period of time .

Watch the video of how quickly the Piranha fish "kill" the cow's head. The whole area of ​​water seemed to be boiling with the sight of a school of Piranha fish swarming and tearing apart.