Animals
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Piranha
Although incidents are rare, the flesh-eating variants of piranha are very capable of doing the damage that they are reputed for. If an injured animal strays into the river, piranha can smell the blood and swarms of frenzied piranha are then able to devour the animal (such as a peccary, cow, or even a human) in just a matter of minutes – leaving only the skeleton behind. People who regularly swim in Amaz⌠nia's rivers sometimes have scars from where piranha have bitten them. Piranha aren't vicious all the time. Normally the
meat-eating piranhas eat other fish, and some studies
suggest that piranha may only take a single (and
relatively harmless) bite out of the fins of other fish
– leaving the fish otherwise healthy. Fish caught in
the Amazon are frequently reported to have missing fins. Piranha teeth are extremely sharp, and Indians often use the teeth as cutting blades, and even use the jawbones as scissors. |
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The
piranha is Amazon's most famous resident. It is a meat
eating fish, with razor sharp teeth capable of tearing
into flesh. However, like the shark, the piranha's
reputation is exaggerated. Only a few species of piranha
are meat-eaters, and many eat fruits and other plants
that fall into the river or when the river flood into the
forest during the wet season (engulfing trees). 
Piranha are
most dangerous in the dry season, when lack of food makes
them more vicious and more likely to try attacking
anything that gets in their way.