Animal of the Month

1. There are many types of salmon in the world. In UK waters, the Atlantic salmon is king.
2. Salmon are born in freshwater rivers, where they stay for between one and four years before swimming out to sea. After a year or more at sea, they return upriver to lay their eggs, finding their way to the exact spot where they were born.
3. The journey to the place where they lay their eggs (the “spawning ground”) can be as much as 900 miles.
4. On the way, they may have to leap any waterfalls standing in their way. The highest jump in the UK is at Orrin Falls in Rosshire, Scotland, where they have to leap a whopping 3.7 metres!
5. Salmon can grow to up to 1.5 metres long and can weigh as much as 36 kilograms. That’s as long as a python and as heavy as a Labrador.
6. Atlantic salmon usually live for four to six years, but some have been known to live for up to 10 years.
7. A large female salmon will lay almost 8,000 eggs! Most of these are gobbled up by other fish before they hatch.
8. Millions of salmon are eaten in the UK each year. The majority of these salmon come from fish farms in Scotland.
9. Like many species of fish that are eaten by people, salmon have suffered declining numbers over the past few decades. Some people blame salmon farming, because it is known to encourage bugs and diseases which are passed to wild fish.
10. Salmon are able to find their way back to the same river and even the same area of the catchment to lay their eggs. Scientists believe salmon do this by storing scents during their migration to sea, and these scents lead them back to their spawning ground. Salmon may even have a better sense of smell than dogs.