Extreme Survival: In The Water and Worried About Piranha Attack

THE SITUATION: You are out swimming in the Amazon, when all of a sudden you get a small cut. It seems small, but suddenly, a school of piranhas starts to swarm you.

Even though they might not attack and dismember humans for fun, they still get very agitated when they smell blood in the water.

Unfortunately, it is your blood they smell, and now you are being attacked. It’s starting to hurt, badly. Their teeth are razor sharp and you want to get away from them.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

Listen to your instincts and get the hell out of there!

“This answer is going to sound sarcastic, but it’s true. Get out of the water,” says Christopher Pomory, biology professor at the University of West Florida. “Hollywood movies have greatly exaggerated the danger. Piranhas can form into feeding frenzies on occasion, so some of the hype is real and it usually comes from blood in the water.”

Though 3-D glasses most definitely made Piranha 3-D look like the most real thing in the world (to the 5 people that saw it), the film was almost pure fantasy. But the fish are still dangerous, like all things that are hungry and have fangs you need to have respect for them

“People in South America swim in water with them all the time without any trouble. If someone is injured and blood gets into the water, and if enough fish are around that respond, then there is a possible danger,” says Pomory. “The only way out of it is to leave the water. At that point, you are treating a flesh wound.”

A few bites from Piranha will hurt a lot and you’ll need to apply first aid to sort them out but there’s not an automatic feeding frenzy because you’re near Piranha, you need to be conscious of your surroundings and be able to leave the water swiftly if needed.

If you have a wound then make sure it’s well covered before entering the water so there’s no risk of the fish catching your sent.