6 Piranha Facts For Kids

At a glance, the piranha might not look very intimidating, but it is actually one of the deadliest and most dangerous animals living in water. If you ever find yourself in water swimming nearby a piranha, you will be very lucky to escape without getting bitten by their incredibly sharp teeth. This animal can put fear into you rather quickly, but learning more about the piranha will help you understand them a bit better.

What is Their Habitat?

1. Piranhas most often reside in rivers. There is a lake in Bangladesh known as Kapati Lake, which is where you can find many piranhas living. This type of fish lives in freshwater and has extremely sharp teeth. This is what makes it so much different from typical fish that you see swimming in oceans, lakes and rivers. Many of these fish can be found around the South America region of the world and the Venezuelan River is home to many piranhas as well. In some parts of the world, groups of piranhas are even referred to as cribes.

Be Careful When You Come Across Piranhas

2. When you do stumble upon their habitat, it is extremely important that you exercise a lot of caution. The most distinguishable characteristic of the piranha is also what makes this fish so dangerous. Piranhas are known to have very powerful and ferocious teeth. These teeth reside on the top and bottom of their jaws and are extremely powerful. They are triangular in shape and pointed at the top. This means that they are very sharp and can easily tear through meat.

Are There Different Species?

3. It is important to note that there is more than one type of piranha species. In actuality, there are about 60 known types.

4. Piranhas live in schools of fish and most of these schools have about 1000 fish. The piranha is a cannibal animal and will even eat other piranhas if they are underfed and in need of food.

What Do They Look Like?

5. Aside from the sharp teeth that line their jaws, there are other characteristics of their appearance that make piranhas different from other fish. Most piranhas are about 18 inches long and weight up to about 24 kilograms.

6. They also have a lifespan that is close to 25 years in duration. This carnivore survives off of meat, but also eats plants, seeds and insects. The teeth from piranhas are so sharp that indigenous peoples even used them to construct weapons.