Oh, how the tables have turned.
I didn’t know this until today, but thanks to this video, I’ve been made aware that there are types of fish that are big enough and motivated enough to hunt low-flying and water-sitting birds.
The predator fish is known as the Giant Trevally and they seem to be very good at hunting unsuspecting flying avians.
These extremely powerful fish can grow to be over 5 and a half feet long and weigh over a whopping 175 pounds (I think I know a guy who matches this fish’s description). The monster fish are known to house in various offshore and inshore marine environments and have even adapted to survive in lower levels of salinity such as rivers and estuaries.
Also known as Lowly Trevally (I prefer the name Giant), the predatory swimmers are usually found in the Indo-Pacific regions’ tropical waters (South Africa, Japan, Hawaii and Australia).
However, judging by this video from BBC, they are not easily found by the birds in those regions. The video explains that the fish are commonly known to be solitary hunters, but they have also been known to “team up” and hunt in packs (or schools I guess?), which is absolutely terrifying.
In the video clips from BBC’s Blue Planet II, these Giant Trevallys have moved into an area with an increased amount of prey in the waters. Though the fledglings are hesitant and aware of their attackers in some instances, the Giant fish turn it up a notch and start absolutely destroying the low flying birds.
Some of the birds even resort to dipping down to the water and taking drinks on the fly, but not all of them were smart enough to avoid the dangerous waters.
The whole thing is shot beautifully (as these Planet Earth style shows often do) with high definition frame rates and even some impressive slow-motion scenes that really emphasize the sheer power of the Giant Trevally.
Some of the attack scenes are eerily similar to shots from the horror movie Jaws, and I’m thinking the scenes from that classic movie of the great white slowly breaching the water might’ve been inspired by the intimidating chase down of the Giant Trevally.
It is definitely shot like a horror movie if you consumed the footage from the perspective of an marine bird.
The classic voice of David Attenborough narrates an insane fact shortly before what I believe to be the best bird-takedown of the entire video:
“So there is a fish here that, amazingly, has a brain capable of calculating the air speed, altitude, and trajectory of a bird.”
That is incredibly fascinating and (excuse my french) badass. I think I might’ve just found my new favorite type of fish.
Take a couple of minutes to watch this violent (yet somehow peaceful) clip of predator fish snatching birds right out of thin air:
