In the Congo River in Africa, there is a "fierce fish" more brutal than the great white shark, they are cold-blooded, thirsty, more than 1.8 meters long, weighing nearly 120 pounds, with 32 hard steel teeth in their mouths, sharper than razors, and can crush the head of their prey in one bite.
The most terrifying thing is that they also like group predation, the "group beating ability" is 100 times stronger than the piranha, and the "cold-blooded troops" formed make the crocodiles talk about changing color. So, how strong is the combat power of this fierce fish? Can you really kill a crocodile?
African tigerfish
What kind of fish is the "fierce fish" of the Congo River?
The African Congo River has a total length of 4,640 kilometers, a wide basin area, a dense river network, many tributaries, a depth of up to 250 meters, rich biological resources, and more than 300 species of fish, the most representative of which is the African tigerfish.
African tigerfish is an extremely fierce giant freshwater fish, is a tiger in freshwater, also known as "freshwater great white shark", they are large, amazing, hard and rough scales, is the true sense of freshwater river "Big Mac".
It is worth mentioning that although the African tigerfish is ferocious, its meat is delicious, the taste is firm, the nutrition is also very rich, and it also has certain medicinal value, so it attracts many fishermen to risk preying, resulting in a smaller and smaller population.
Teeth of an African tigerfish
How strong is the fighting power of the African tigerfish?
1. African tigerfish is good at group fighting, and the teamwork ability is unique
African tigerfish is an extremely brave hunter, like to go out in groups to hunt, when fighting, the fish cooperate tacitly, the division of labor is clear, and can skillfully use various tactics such as surprise attacks and divisions.
When faced with giant prey, they will first bite the fins and tail of the prey, incapacitating the prey, and then rush up, tear the prey to pieces, and finally devour it.
In addition, the personality of African tigerfish is also crazy, especially when food is scarce, once it encounters prey will launch a crazy attack, you can imagine that under the bite of a large group of tigerfish, even crocodiles will be eaten slag.
2. The African tigerfish is strong and explosive
For wild animals, size is the most important measure of combat power and the key to victory or defeat, and the African tigerfish can reach a length of 1.8 meters and weigh an average of more than 100 pounds, which is a behemoth in freshwater rivers.
The most terrifying thing is that the African tigerfish is not only huge, but also very terrifying, and the all-out blow can easily kill the piranha in seconds, such a powerful force, so that no matter what kind of opponent they face, they dare to step forward to fight, very brutal.
Therefore, African tigerfish can run amok in the Congo River, almost no animals dare to provoke them, even crocodiles, when encountered, they can only take the initiative to retreat to avoid conflict.
3. African tigerfish has sharp teeth and sharp mouths, and even steel fishing can bite off
As the predator at the apex of the food chain, the African tigerfish has hard, sharp teeth that can reach 2.5 centimeters in length, and are staggered up and down, which looks chilling.
Not only that, their mouths can open more than 100 degrees, the bite force is extremely amazing, the same size, stronger than the great white shark, this power can not only bite the body of the prey, even steel fishing can directly bite off.
The most important thing is that the African tigerfish will not let go once it bites its prey, and will not stop until it bites the prey alive, so the creatures in the Congo River will avoid them and fear them like tigers.
4. African tigerfish is flexible and has an impact comparable to an "airship"
Although the African tigerfish are thick and fat, they are not slow at all, especially their tails, which swing very frequently, which can provide sufficient power for swimming, allowing them to speed more than 40 kilometers per hour.
Their attack speed is also very fast, and their mouths can be closed several times a second, and the speed is outrageous, so ordinary fish do not dare to appear in the habitat of African tigerfish, for fear that they will not even have the opportunity to run.
Such a fast speed, coupled with a huge body, gives the African tigerfish an unparalleled impact, the power is comparable to the "speedboat", once a fish is hit by them, it is destined to be killed or injured.
5. African tigerfish have developed perception and can easily judge the orientation of their prey
Generally, carnivorous fish are preyed on by smell, such as arapaima, bull shark and great white shark, but the African tigerfish is an exception, which has a special air sac in their body that senses fluctuations in the surrounding water flow.
If the current in front fluctuates greatly, the air bag begins to vibrate, indicating that there is prey ahead, and then the African tigerfish will rush to the vibration source without hesitation, this skill is unique to the African tigerfish, is their predatory "artifact".
It is worth mentioning that the African tigerfish are also very defensive, their scales are very thick and hard, just like ancient armor, ordinary fish can not penetrate at all, let alone give fatal injuries.
Little African tigerfish
The predatory ability of African tigerfish
In fact, African tigerfish are not only good at attacking, but also good at lurking, they are predators in the dark, because the Congo River is deep and dark, and living in this dark deep water environment for a long time allows African tigerfish to practice a "real kung fu".
They can rely on turbid river water, lurk in the lower layers of the river, and use the air sacs in the body to sense the surrounding movements, once a prey approaches, they will quickly rush up, bite off the head or neck of the prey, and then have a full meal.
In addition, African tigerfish also have a special predation technique, that is, jump predation, their bounce is very strong, can jump out of the water several meters high, even water birds at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour can not escape their clutches.
Can African tigerfish kill crocodiles?
There are many species of crocodiles in the Congo River, each of which has a strong fighting power, if singled out, the African tigerfish is no match for the crocodile, but if a group of African tigerfish wants to eat the crocodile, it is very likely.
Although the size of the African tigerfish is not as large as the crocodile, it has an absolute advantage in speed and flexibility, and the bite force is also very strong, if the number is enough, it can bite the skin of the crocodile and gnaw the skin and flesh of the crocodile.
In addition, crocodiles want to kill prey, can only hide to engage in sneak attacks, but the air bag of the African tigerfish can sense the position of the crocodile, so as to avoid the crocodile's attack, so that the attack can be attacked, retreated and defended, so on the whole, the strength of the African tigerfish is slightly better.
Natural predators of African tigerfish
In fact, African tigerfish are active in groups most of the time, and with their numerical advantage, they are on the mighty side of the Congo River, and there is no grass wherever they go, which makes countless animals fearful.
But nature is fair, everything lives together, every species has its own destined nemesis, and the African tigerfish is no exception, and their nemesis is the famous African sea eagle.
African sea eagles are large birds of prey, especially like to prey on the cubs of African tigerfish, they have a wingspan of up to 2 meters, fierce personality, fast speed, sharp claws can pierce the baby tigerfish with one blow, is the biggest natural enemy of African tigerfish.
In a word:
African tigerfish is huge, fierce, extremely predatory, even crocodiles can be killed, can be called "freshwater great white shark", is the most powerful predator of the Congo River in Africa, and is also a well-deserved freshwater overlord.