Pike

A pike is a very large and toothy fish. When I say toothy, I MEAN toothy- the pike has over 700 teeth! And for good reason, too- a pike can catch a fish as big as itself. Some pikes are so big that they can catch ducks and water rats. But pikes also have to be careful about what they eat- their mouth stretches wide and will suck in the food- but it can not reverse the motion and cough food that is too big up. Many pikes die from suffocation because they go after fish or ducks that are too big.

The true pike is found only in Europe, but in the US there are fish called northern pike. The only difference is that northern pike don't have teeth. There are also fish similar to the pike, such as the muskellunge, or as my dad calls them, "muskies". Muskellunge are VERY big, growing up to 6 feet in length. While the pike doesn't swim around very much, when it does, it can swim over 30 feet with a simple flick of it's tail. The dorsal fin is placed high on the fish's back, and the position has a lot to do with it's power when swimming.


With all the power in its swimming, the pike is an excellent stealth hunter. It camouflages in well with murky water, and when food comes swimming by- all it has to do is lunge forward and suck it in. The pike always lives in fresh water, and cannot live in water that is too deep or that is running. Pike are also known to eat their own species if food becomes scarce.