Catfish hunt pigeons? At that that's what appears to have happened in a river in south-west France.
A new study shows that catfish in the Tarn River are behaving more like killer whales than the tame bottom feeders that they're typically known as. In fact, the researchers of the University of Toulouse who led to study are calling them "freshwater killer whales" due to their surprising habit, the Daily Mail reports.
A study published on Thursday investigated this unusual behavior. They found that the catfish in south-west France leap from the river and catch live pigeons on the land before they wiggle themselves back into the water to enjoy their prey.
This behavior has never been seen before among the animals as they typically feed on plants, fish, fish eggs, crayfish, snails, bugs and minnows that dwell along the bottom of the water.
The European catfish are the largest freshwater fish in Europe and the third largest in the world at three to nearly five feet long.
The catfish in the Tarn River were placed in the river in the 1980's and adapted to a new way of catching prey, according to the Daily Mail.The researchers who conducted the study spent five months watching the creatures from a bridge above a gravel island. They observed 54 cases of catfish attempting to catch a bird from the land. They were successful 28 percent of the time.
They observed the whiskers of the catfish perk up when they were in the hunting stage, leading researchers to believe that the catfish made use of water vibrations to find their prey rather than sight.
The catfish would then quickly leap onto the land and catch the pigeons in an event that lasted one to four seconds.
The researchers are not quite sure what may have caused the catfish to adapt in this way.
One possibility is a high population of catfish in the area. The species was introduced to the river and 1983 and their population has grown significantly since. It may be possible that there is less to feed on in the water due to competition, so they're turning to land to find their next meal.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
