When pigeons descend to the river to bathe, this fish uses its sensitive whiskers to detect them, then waits for the right moment to leap out of the water and catch its prey “on the spot.”
For the first time, Frédéric Santoul, a fish ecologist at the University of Toulouse, witnessed the voracious behavior of the largest freshwater fish in Europe. This occurred while he was standing on a medieval bridge in Albi, a town in southern France.
Below the bridge flows the Tarn River. At that moment, pigeons were gracefully flying around, seemingly unaware of the catfish lurking near the gravel shore. Suddenly, a fish leaped out of the water, snatched a pigeon in an instant, clamped its prey tightly in its mouth, and vanished beneath the surface. It was the wels catfish.
Wels Catfish.
In 1794, a German fisherman released several thousand catfish into the Ebro River in Spain. Hoping to catch larger fish, fishermen in various countries followed suit, inadvertently creating conditions for this species to thrive.
For decades, the population of wels catfish remained relatively stable. However, in new rivers, this species often targets endangered and commercially important fish such as herring and Atlantic salmon.
Ecologist Santoul expressed concern that the wels catfish could wipe out many native fish species in Western Europe, leading to changes in the river ecosystem, which is already heavily impacted by water pollution and overfishing.
This species could wipe out many native fish species in Western Europe.
Returning to the story of the town of Albi mentioned earlier, large wels catfish were introduced here about 40 years ago. They quickly multiplied, nearly exterminating the local fish population. Now, they have begun to prefer hunting pigeons.
Catfish hunting pigeons.
This species is also considered a “grim reaper” for the birds. The pigeons often descend to the river to bathe and preen their feathers to remove dirt and cool their bodies. As they skim the water’s surface, the oil from their feathers flows downstream, making them easy targets for the lurking “death” beneath.
The “monster” fish uses its whiskers to detect and prey on pigeons
Due to their poor eyesight, wels catfish use their whiskers to sense the movements of their prey. This can be considered a novel hunting strategy for a fish that typically lives on the riverbed. Meanwhile, for the pigeons, after thousands of years living in urban areas, they now have to learn how to avoid this “monster” fish.
