Piranhas: The Truth Behind the Myth of Amazon’s Killer Fish
Monday, 1 September 2025 () Piranhas have long been seen as terrifying predators, surrounded by myths and horror stories. In popular imagination, they are thought to strip any living creature to the bone within seconds. But reality tells a different story: in all recorded history, there has not been a single confirmed case of a piranha killing a human. Where the Deadly Reputation Began The myth owes much to U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. During his Amazon expedition in 1913, locals staged a spectacle by throwing a cow carcass into the river. Starving piranhas, kept penned and unfed for days, tore into the meat instantly. Roosevelt described the scene as “the embodiment of ferocious evil.” Newspapers and novels amplified his words, and piranhas became infamous worldwide as merciless killers. In truth, such frenzied feeding is rare in the wild. The Amazon’s piranhas are far more cautious than their legend suggests.
Monday, 1 September 2025 ()
