EATEN ALIVE - Human Hands vs. Piranha!

- There is a possibility that they will bite me. To be prepared. If that happens, there will be a lot of blood, so prepare yourselves. One two. Three. Hands entering. Start the clock. (reels whirring) (fast drum music) (ominous music) No other fish except the shark has brought fear to the hearts of

human

ity like the

piranha

. Native to South America, there are more than 50 described species and they inhabit virtually all freshwater systems, moving in schools and silently stalking their next victim. I am no stranger to these toothy fish, and in the summer of 2019 I witnessed their sharp weaponry.

Well, getting ready to swim with alligators, and we're also catching

piranha

s in the process, and I tried to take a photo and one bit the tip of my finger. That's a lot of blood. Those teeth are very sharp. I tried to peel my lip a little bit and it went like this (imitates biting), and it actually took a good chunk off the tip of my finger. And in case you're wondering, yes, it hurt him. But are these fish really aggressive? Clearly, if you catch one, hold your finger to its mouth, and try to see its teeth, you'll end up like me.

But do they have an appetite for

human

flesh? We're about to find out if piranhas can eat me

alive

. Today I'm in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, and I'll be conducting this crazy experiment at Aquarium Adventure. Their impressive 12,000-square-foot facility is home to thousands of fish, marine animals, and aquariums of every size you can imagine. I'm here to visit the resident population of red-bellied piranhas. The table is already set, so let's get straight to the point. I have to admit, it's pretty intimidating standing behind a tank full of red piranhas. Now if you look at one of these fish as an individual, it doesn't look that thr

eaten

ing.

But when you see six of them swimming like that, that's what you call school. And when there are six fish, yes, it definitely gets your heart racing. Now the big question we want to answer tonight is whether or not piranhas will eat human flesh. But before we do that, let's first take a look at some of the interesting anatomical features of these fish. Now when you look at the body of piranhas, they have a very dominant head. Those big bulbous eyes tell you that these fish have incredible eyesight. But what's most noticeable is that big underbite.

That lower jaw tells you that this fish packs a punch when it comes to biting. The jaw structure is divided into four different sections. The nice thing about these teeth is that they are interlocking, sharp and triangular in shape, and fit together like puzzle pieces. Add that along with the shaking and spinning and oh man, you'll be attacked by a swarm of piranhas and you'll be in a very bad situation. And like sharks, they replace their teeth throughout their lives. But unlike sharks, these entire jaw segments are periodically replaced, meaning that an entire section of the jaw falls off the fish and then a new section grows.

In the wild, piranhas are considered predators. In many cases, they are opportunistic, meaning they will feast on virtually anything they find. But it is mainly their sense of smell and their ability to perfect hearing that makes them such an effective predator. You have to think about where these fish live, in the aquatic systems of South America that are often quite murky. So when the fish can't see its prey, it needs to hone its use of smell and sound. They will often attack things that are splashing. This may indicate that the animal is rooted and struggling, which obviously makes it an easier victim.

When it comes to attacking large prey, yes, they have been known to attack things as large as livestock. Of course, humans have been bitten and about 200 bites are reported each year. When you look at the piranha, you think, okay, obviously with those teeth, it's a predator. But this is not a super predator. There are many other animals within the piranha's environment that will take the opportunity to feast on one of these fish. Alligators, otters, river dolphins and even waterfowl like herons and egrets will surely take the opportunity to eat one of these fish. That's why they move together as a group.

When you have a school, you appear larger and more intimidating, which means you are much less likely to be preyed upon. Alright, I know what you're thinking. Coyote, you're going to go around the fish tank! Let's get into the experiment. We want to know if one or all of these fish will bite you or not. There are six there, so I'd say the odds are pretty good. So if you're ready, I'm Coyote Peterson and I think it's time for a piranha to eat me

alive

. And I'm not going to shake

hands

around and cause a ruckus.

I'm going to place them gently and see what happens. I'll keep my

hands

there for 60 seconds. There is a possibility that they will bite me. To be prepared. If that happens, there will be a lot of blood, so prepare yourselves. (sighs) (growls) It's okay. (sighs) Okay, I'm taking a while. Here we go. One two. Three. Hands entering. Start the clock. 60 seconds. (ominous music) They definitely move a lot more with my hands there than when I didn't have them. Now, you may feel scared by the presence of my hands. You see, my hand is pretty close. In fact, the fish are touching them right now.

Fins floating against me. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. Look at that, look at that! Nothing yet. I'm going to put my hands in this direction. Well. My hand, my left hand and my forearm are completely surrounded by the piranhas. I can feel the tails brushing against me. Oh man. Fish faces very close to my hand. Wow, it looks like they're going to take a bite. (shocked screams) No, no, getting some active queues. Hand in the middle of the fish. So my right hand is completely away from the fish, but my left hand is completely surrounded by the fish at this point.

Check it out. Right at the school of piranhas, no bite occurs. Okay, now that I've gotten over the initial fear and the fact that the piranhas are slapping their tails at me, I'm starting to feel like they'll just ignore me at this point. So far, no bite. And I feel like even if at this point a morsel came, it would just be a morsel of curiosity to say, "What is this in our tank? Is this something I can eat?" Don't feel like you're going to walk into one of those. frenzies like you'd see in a movie where they take all your meat off, oh boy, I thought I was about to bite it, they just hit my tails.

Ugh. Hands shake a little, I admit, but there are absolutely none. sting. All the flesh is still intact. So what we've seen in Hollywood B movies of these fish eating human flesh down to the bone definitely didn't happen in this scenario. Well, you have to get rid of those nerves a little. Man, when the piranhas really hit your skin, you're thinking, okay, the next move could be one of those sharp teeth pulling a big circular chunk out of your hand or your forearm. Okay, so the last test, the. Ultimate test now will be to hold this fish fillet underwater with my hand and see if you can tell it apart. difference between the steak and my hand.

So this will be fish meat and oils mixed with my hand. Let's see if they go for that. Are you guys ready? Here we go. Hand and fish fillet returning to the piranha tank. One. Two, there is nothing easier. Three. (ominous music) What I'm actually doing is moving around to play a little bit. Try to give them that movement, that movement that as we have read, piranhas are attracted to things that they are splashing and fighting. So if I use my hand to make the steak look like prey in distress, will that trigger an attack? Honestly, they don't want anything to do with my hand or the fish fillet.

So what I'm going to do now is stick my hand and the fillet into the school of fish and see what happens. Slowly. Hungry guys? Free party! Human hand, half price, free consumption fish fillet. Anyone want to do a taste test? Just a small bite. Is anyone going to try it? Six fish. Six fish, six opportunities to eat something. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. At this point, I'm completely calm with my hand inside the piranha tank. You have three fish on one side and three fish on the other. They want absolutely nothing to do with the fish fillet or my hand.

Okay, hand and fish fillet coming out of the water. No bites on the fillet. I don't have bites on my hand. Perhaps the rumors that piranhas are bloodthirsty, voracious and carnivorous killers are nothing more than a rumor. They are usually considered carnivores, but the truth is that they are actually omnivores. Piranhas eat berries, nuts, and pretty much anything they can eat. In many cases, it is a misnomer for piranhas to simply strip off some of its flesh if it is already alive and turn it into a feast. Now, it is fair to say that this is a controlled environment and these fish have been bred in captivity.

So will piranhas in the wild behave differently? I'm not sure. Maybe that's evidence we should put back into nature. So the next step is to head to South America, return to the Pantanal, and put myself in the environment inside a school of these fish to determine if the piranhas will actually eat a living human. Stay tuned, guys. The second part will be coming soon. I'm Coyote Peterson. Be brave, stay wild. See you on the next adventure. It is said that around 200 piranha stings occur each year in the wild. However, these bites are minor. Generally, these fish are shy and run away quickly, especially if larger animals such as a human enter their aquatic environment.

So while their teeth may be sharp and their notorious reputation always defines them as bloodthirsty Hollywood horror creatures, piranhas simply wish to be left alone. Many thanks to Aquarium Adventures for allowing us to film at their location. And if you dream of setting up your own aquatic system, their incredible staff will make you feel at home. Hey coyote pack! If you thought being

eaten

alive by a piranha was stressful, be sure to come back and watch as a swarm of blood-sucking leeches turn me into an all-you-can-eat buffet line. And don't forget, subscribe and join the memberships so you can join me and the team on our next wild adventure.

And my God, this is awkward. (animal roar)