A small Alaskan rainbow trout has eaten a record-setting 19 small mammals.
According to United Press International, researchers at Togiak National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Alaska while catching trout for tracking found the 48-centimeter fish bleeding and dying after 19 shrews were found in its belly.
Fish biologist Mark Lisac and his colleagues were curious to see what was in the fish's bulging belly and were shocked to pull out the 19 mouse-like species, which are also known as voles.
"I can't say for certain that I've ever seen a well preserved shrew in a stomach analysis," Lisac told UPI. "No one ever thought they would pull 19 shrews out of it."
According to Lisac, Trout like to eat small mammals such as the voles and shrews, but 19 might be a record compared to the former record of seven he found in a grayling trout.
"It may be surprising at how many fish actually do specialize in that, or it could have just been a freak event."
Alaskan Rainbow Trout, which are among one of the fresh fish humans love to catch and eat, have a very large appetite UPI reported. Often fisherman use the fish's love for shrews and voles to their advantage. For instance, fly fisherman tie large amounts of deer hair, which is cut to resemble a mouse on their hooks.
A photo on the Togiak Refuge Facebook page has been shared over 700 times, which is up enormously from the normal two or three the majority of the page's posts obtain.
"How did so many shrews make it into one trout? It's anyone's guess," the post said. "But perhaps a nest by the river eroded, dumping all of the shrews into the water where this rainbow trout likely came away feeling like a lottery winner."
