PHOTOS: BBC X4| URBAN JUNGLEWILDLIFEBird-eating fish
in France
It was a huge surprise to hear
of a fish catching and eating a bird- it’s usually the other way round!
The wels catfish tends to feed on
invertebrates and smaller fish,
but, in one place in Albi, in the
south of France, it has developed
a taste for pigeon.
Next to a 1,000-year-old bridge in
this city is a ‘No fishing’ sign. For
this reason, catfish are found in
enormous numbers, and they grow
up to 2.4 metres in length. By the
end of summer, there are not many
fish left for them to eat. So, in the
last 15 years, some of them have
turned their attention to catching
pigeons instead.
As the pigeons bathe, oil from
their feathers starts to flow
downstream, and the catfish detect
the smell. It’s an eerie sight seeing
this river monster swim towards
a group of birds splashing in the
shallows. When a fish strikes, you
can hear a loud sucking noise –
rather like something disappearing
up the vacuum cleaner – as it slurps
the bird into its mouth.
56 April 2017