'Zombie fish' still swimming despite missing huge chunk of its body (VIDEO)

A viral video on social media shows a fish swimming, even though it is missing a large part of its body.

Fish spotted swimming with a massive chunk of its body missing
© _548901005677 GETTY_IMAGES
Fish spotted swimming with a massive chunk of its body missing

If nature can amaze us, it can also scare us. The proof is in the form of a video that is going viral on social networks. Published on Reddit, it shows a fish in great pain and seems to be swimming peacefully, even though it has probably been bitten by a predator. I might as well warn you, the images may shock the most sensitive.

Discover our latest podcast

A massive bite mark

Some animals are able to survive after being seriously injured. A rooster, for example, can live for more than a year after being decapitated. The animal we are talking about today has its whole head but not its whole body! In the video, it is clear that it has been bitten by a predator.

The animal that attacked it left a gaping bite mark but did not finish off its prey. The surviving fish, like a zombie, is much lighter than before but seems to be able to move around without too much trouble.

Vital organs spared

So how do we explain its survival? Unfortunately, we don't know when this video was taken (it is said to be quite old and has just resurfaced), nor do we know where it was taken.

On Twitter, a user-provided a credible explanation that in most fish, the vital organs are located in the ventricle part, which was therefore spared during the attack. The poor zombie fish would not have died on the spot, but that does not mean that its wound is painless.

This article was translated from Gentside FR.

Sources used:

-Reddit: This fish is still alive after something took a huge bite out of it.

Fishermen catch super rare fish in Thailand, said to be a 'harbinger of doom' and to cause tsunamis Fishermen catch super rare fish in Thailand, said to be a 'harbinger of doom' and to cause tsunamis