Fisherman Catches a Northern Pike With Something Still Living In Its Belly

A group of fishermen had quite a surprise when they discovered their catch of the day had something firm and seemingly whole inside its belly. Northern pike are voracious predators and will eat just about anything. It was anyone’s guess what was inside the fish’s stomach. When the men opened the fish up, they were astonished to see something alive inside its belly.

About Northern Pike: Behavior and Diet

The Northern pike is a large, carnivorous species of pike fish found in lakes and rivers. In North America, they range in the northern half of the country, extending up into Canada and Alaska. The large fish typically range from 15 to 22 inches long and weigh around two to five pounds. Although some of the largest northern pikes reach around 15 pounds, the biggest ever caught was over 55 pounds.

Northern pike are known to eat almost anything they come across. They are opportunistic feeders and will eat a large variety of mammals, fish, and amphibians. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, northern pikes eat anything that is up to a third of their own body length. This could be fish, other pikes, crayfish, snakes, ducks, rats, frogs, and turtles.

They capture their prey by first stalking and then ambushing, similar to an alligator’s style of hunting. The pike may hide under a bed of weeds. It will then come tearing out of its hiding spot. Pikes whip their tails to propel themselves forward, grabbing the prey in their mouths full of sharp teeth.

Do Northern Pikes Usually Swallow Their Prey Whole?

The YouTube Channel, @FurryTails, posted a video where a group of fishermen had caught a large northern pike. They laid the fish out on a cutting board to prepare it. That is when they discovered something hard and round inside its stomach. One man jokingly says he thinks it’s a Frisbee. Another suggested it could be a turtle.

When the fisherman cuts the stomach of the pike open, the group is astounded to watch a bluegill come sliding out. The room erupts in startled laughter when the bluegill starts flopping on the table, revealing it is still alive. Many people commenting on the video hope the fishermen released the hardy little bluegill, with one person commenting, “That second fish deserves to live, he earned a second chance.”

This pike had apparently swallowed the bluegill whole, and the fish was still alive inside its stomach.

How Long Can a Fish Live Inside the Stomach of a Predatory Fish?

Being swallowed alive sounds like a terrible way to die, but a creature trapped in the stomach of a fish likely doesn’t last for very long. Predatory fish, like pikes, tend to swallow their prey whole, leaving the creature alive as it makes its way into their stomach. When a creature is swallowed whole, it will first struggle to get enough oxygen into the fish’s stomach. It varies how long most fish can survive outside of water, from a few minutes to a few hours.

Aside from a lack of oxygen, the other issue the creature would immediately face inside a fish is getting burned by the animal’s digestive juices. According to a research study on fish digestion, northern pike took 20 hours to digest half of its stomach content. It was 50 hours before it digested everything in its stomach. However, the prey is likely long dead before the serious digestion process begins.

The Fish Probably Dies in a Matter of Minutes

There is not a lot of information to be found about how long a creature can survive inside a fish’s stomach. A lot depends on the species of the animal that was swallowed. Adjunct professor, Gerald Waterfield, answered a Quora question saying, “My best estimate of the time that the consumed fish stays alive is from about 15 to 25 minutes, after which the fish dies from lack of oxygen. This process starts as soon as the fish enters the predator’s throat. It happens a little slower at lower temperatures. Even if the prey fish were regurgitated a few minutes fewer than this time, it probably would still expire due to brain damage from the restricted oxygen intake, and it would be blinded by its eyes having been greatly damaged from stomach acid.”

The bluegill in the video likely hadn’t been swallowed for long. It seemed to be in good shape, without burn damage from digestive juices or any apparent damage from the lack of oxygen. We can speculate it couldn’t have been more than minutes before the northern pike swallowed its meal, and was then caught by the fishermen.

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