Australia’s Amazing Climbing Perch!

G'day, Mate! Good to see you. How’s the day going? So far so good? Pour yourself a big mugful of coffee, grab an ANZAC bikkie and perch on one of the VIP chairs while I tell you about a strange fish in Australia...

We hear a lot about invasive species, but rarely does one make this big a splash. Australians, brace yourself for the onslaught of the climbing perch.

Yes, it’s a fish — but you’ve never seen a fish do things like this one can. The “climbing perch” can actually crawl out of the water and survive on dry land for up to six days. It pulls itself around from place to place using hard, spiny gills on the side of its head.

Wait, there’s more. These fish don’t have to stay in or near large bodies of water to survive. They can travel across land from water hole to water hole, going anywhere they please and wreaking ecological destruction along the way. They can hibernate in dry creek beds for up to six months.

Although technically a freshwater fish, researchers realized recently that the climbing perch has apparently adapted to surviving for periods in salt water. Is there anything this fish can’t do? Seemingly not — some say they can climb trees, for crying out loud.

If this isn't Darwin’s species adaptation, I don’t know what is! This has to be evolution in progress. 

Watch a CNN video about the climbing perch here:

http://www.care2.com/causes/will-these-walking-fish-destroy-australian-ecosystems.html

See ya, eh!

Bob