Dangerous Creatures: Barracuda

(Tropical seas worldwide)

   Don’t bite any of these animals! The barracuda, the hammerhead shark and the moray eel often have poisonous flesh.
   What knife-like teeth! The teeth of all animals are well suited to the food they eat.
   If a diver attracts the interest of a barracuda, what should he do? Keep very, very still.
   Divers avoid barracudas. But they also try to stay away from sea snakes, white sharks and fire coral.
   Video: Facing a lone barracuda is a frightening experience. But imagine a school of thousands of barracudas! Fortunately, people are not on the barracuda’s menu.
   Advice: Don’t wear shiny jewellery when you go into the water. It may look great to other swimmers, but to a barracuda, a flash of metal looks like a swimming fish. And you know what barracudas do to fish!

Next: Fish do not need barracuda teeth to be dangerous. Some defend themselves with venomous spines, like the lionfish.