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Fish

Home Mammals Birds Reptiles and Amphibians Fish

Fish are another group of animals that make up a large portion of the animal population in North America. There is estimated to be around 1000 or more different species. Some of these, for example, are the Bluegill, the Largemouth Bass, the Rainbow Trout, the Yellow Perch, and the Northern Pike.

bluegill

The bluegill is a type of freshwater fish that goes by many names. They are sometimes called the "bream", the "brim", the "sunny" and the "copper nose", depending on where they live. They are found in rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, and wetlands right near the Rocky Mountains in the United States of America, as well as Ontario, Canada. Their diet is mostly smaller fish, crickets, water bugs, and larvae. They are also known to be very friendly with humans, which is not common for wild fish.

bass

The largemouth bass is a species of bass found mostly in the central and southern parts of the United States of America, although they are also found in smaller areas of Canada and Mexico. This species gets its name from its large mouth, which can open extremely wide to catch insects, larvae, smaller fish, and even snakes. Because of the animals they eat, and the fact that they are strong hunters, they are known to be an invasive species, causing other animal populations to go down. It has even been thought that they caused the extinction of a waterbird called the Atitlan grebe.

trout

The rainbow trout is a species well known for its bright coloration, especially the bright red stripe that runs along their body. They are found to live mostly in freshwater rivers and streams all over different parts of the United States of America. They are also known as a popular source of food for people. These fish will try to eat anything it can get, like caddisflies, mayflies, stoneflies, smaller fish, shrimp, crustaceans, crayfish, newly hatched snakes, and even fish carrion.

perch

The yellow perch, also referred to as the "perch", "preacher", "striped perch", and "American perch", is a species found in the Atlantic Ocean, and is also found in North American lakes, rivers, and basins. Besides that, they can also be found in reservoirs, river impoundments, and lakes that were made by people. Their diet is mostly made of freshwater clams, crickets, smaller fish (like minnows), and worms. These fish are a popular food source, but due to overfishing, this species is not bred and raised in fish farms so people can eat them, without having to worry about their population going down.

pike

The Northern pike is a type of large, freshwater fish. They can grow up to almost 5 feet in length and weigh about 63 pounds. They are a species that eats only meat, mostly eating different species of fish, frogs, and even small mammals and birds. Younger pike may even eat others of the same species. They are extremely fast, strong swimmers, and usually hunt alone, but there are theories that suggest they hunt in groups, similar to how wolves or lions work together to hunt down prey.