Roosevelt and Piranhas
In 1913, during Theodore Roosevelt’s trip to Brazil locals took him deep into the rainforest and warned him of the dangers in exploring the jungle.
To illustrate the risks TR didn’t know they locals stocked a small area of water with starving, unfed Piranhas. They then threw a cow in the water that was immediately attached in a massive feeding frenzy.
In TR's 1914 travel memoirs “Through the Brazilian Wilderness” he wrote of his amazement in witnessing these seemingly “perfect killing machines. ” He described them as a short, deep-bodied fish, with a blunt face with a projecting lower jaw. He recorded, "Their razor-edged teeth are wedge-shaped like a shark, and the jaw muscles possess great power. The rabid, furious snaps drive the teeth through flesh and bone. The head with its short muzzle, staring malignant eyes, and gaping, cruelly armed jaws, is the embodiment of evil ferocity; and the actions of the fish exactly match its looks.”
He called them the most ferocious, formidable fish in the world. He noted that even sharks and barracudas generally only go after things smaller than themselves. These piranhas were attacking a cow.
Truth is Piranhas are relatively calm and generally not dangerous to humans. They rarely attack and typically only when they feel threatened or defending their nests,. The Red-Bellied Piranha, native to South America feed on fish, snails, insects and aquatic plant life. While they have sharp interlocking teeth capable of causing severe wounds most attacks involve small, painful nips on the hands and/or feet.
