The pike who bit off more than he could chew: 25lb fish chokes to death on a duck
- Pike tried to feed on a whole tufted duck
- Unusual find discovered by a vicar out bird counting
- The type of fish have been down to swallow small dogs
By: KATHARINE BARNEY
This fish bit off more than it could chew – after it tried to swallow a duck.
The 25lb pike tried to make made a meal of its last catch – a tufted duck – after surging from the bottom of Loch of Lowes in Perthshire to swallow it whole.
The bold fish tried in vain to wolf down its meal, but failed to finish its dinner leaving the back end of the dug poking out of its mouth and choking it to death.
Greedy: The pike found the duck was too large a meal after all and choked to death on the duck
Last bite: It was too late by the time the pike realised he had bitten off more than he could chew
Rev Ian Atkinson, 79, stumbled across the grisly find while walking along the edge of the loch while carrying out a bird count this week.
He said: ‘The pike basically choked to death after trying to swallow the duck.
Grim find: The Rev. Ian Atkinson discovered the fish while bird counting
‘But good heavens, no one ever expects to see anything like that, I can’t imagine it happens very often.
‘The chances of seeing a fish with a duck in its mouth washed up on the riverbank must be very slim.
Rev Atkinson, who conducts services at St. Mary’s Church in Birnam, Perthshire, said: ‘I didn’t think it was gruesome at all. I suppose there wasn’t much to see anyway as there wasn’t very much of the duck left.”
Pikes’ large appetites are legendary, with numerous tales of them swallowing small dogs.
The freshwater fish has a sandpaper-like tongue which helps them cling onto their large prey and turn them around into an easier position to swallow.
It is thought pike were put into Scottish lochs and rivers in the Middle Ages, although fossils uncovered suggest the species may be 20 million years old.
The Scottish and British record for a catch is a staggering 47lb 11oz which was caught by Tommy Morgan in 1947 on Loch Lomond.
Stuffed:The feathery friend proved to be the fish’s last meal – but one that he couldn’t finish
Too much: Pikes have been know to swallow ducks before, but this one was that bit too big
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