Zombie Salmon in October Stillaguamish River Wa

The end of the 2013 Pink Salmon run. The smell of death is in the air.

[swiggy]

for everyone wondering what’s happening, the salmon is still alive but close to dying. salmons start dying after they mate, and they stop eating too. they start rotting while they are still alive. think something similar to migrating necrosis. the fish then keeps living and swimming around as normal, even though its body is wasting away. eventually the body is too far gone and the fish, while still alive, can no longer function and is subject to the environment. that is what happened to this fish. as for the eye, either a bird got it, or it rotted away. this because the eye is very soft, and softer tissues tends to go first.

[Ryan-zvos]

Birds probably pecked its eye out. Crows love doing that.

[letterstoic]

“Doesn’t matter. Had sex.”

They started this meme before there was meme.

[Moncherelouis]

i will never forget the story someone once told me, they were a kid and saw one in the river and went to pick it up, it fell apart in their hand

[deaganachomarunacathasaigh]

In Ireland we call these Kelts or Cealtí. Male Salmon, Steelhead or Sea Trout who've spawned and die from exhaustion. A crow, magpie or raven probably plucked his eyes out

[oasisofgalaxies]

Every time I see a salmon like this I think of a poem. I can’t remember where it is or what it even says, but it still gets me. Not all mighty creatures have to be lions. Some are little fish who persist after death

[tormentrmalphus]

Zombie salmon are a common occurrence at the end of fishing season here in alaska. They'll develop rot and be absolutely disgusting. That usually when I just stop fishing for the season

[alexanderx]

Salmonberg: Once my species passes on its genes, it dies.
SalmonFry: So you have to choose between a life without sex and a grewsome death?
Salmonberg: Yes
SalmonFry: Tough call.

[Scott-fjuf]

This is so sad to see. I know it’s nature but to see a slowly dying creature is always terribly hard to watch.

[ЄвгенійОстроверхов]

It is said that up to 30% of Atlantic salmon survive mating. There have been cases when some individuals survived even 3 or more matings! Those are usually larger, more experienced, and can therefore lay out more and by some accounts larger eggs!
The main reason why others do not survive is energy. Jumping against the current is a very heavy task. As such they use/transform not only their muscle mass but their skeleton too. It is done to get calcium which somehow gives them energy and strength. They literally eat themselves in the process! Especially their own bones.

[julianffan]

As someone who went to see creeks during spawning season as a field trip every year in elementary school I can attest to the fact that it does, in fact, smell just as bad as it looks.

[wildspirewarrior]

As a salmon myself, that's why I go with the no-nut sigma grindset

[herpderp]

I know this is a natural part of the salmon life cycle, but I still feel bad for the fish itself, that can't be a pleasant way to go.

[toyotatacoma]

The way he’s still trying to swim despite his condition. Harrowing, half pitiable and half admirable.

[zymbotictoot]

Mother nature, never ceases to amaze me. Especially salmon, they are born in the river, grow a little, go out to sea for years until they are mature enough to breed. Then they return to the same river to spawn. Pacific salmon die after spawning and Atlantic salmon don't. Pretty amazing!

[audrey]

To add to the explanation everyone is giving; the reason salmon stop eating and start to decay ths moment they spawn is becuse young salmon will eat their parents remains. it's kinda like parasitic wasps but instead of eating a separate host species, they eat their own.

[wayneclark]

OMG - a bunch of years ago while fishing late season for salmon in bay area - martinez public pier i stood in amazement as a salmon that looked Just like that one swimming against the current [ it's about 6 knots on the outgoing tide ] and that Zombie salmon was still fighting it's way up river - I stood in awe of the site from over thirty five years ago and still a fresh memory ...

[risenfromyoutubesashesagai]

What a crazy existence. We take being human for granted. Could be worse, could've been born a salmon, being chased by bigger fish throughout life. If you make it to mate, you then face starvation, deadly fatigue, suffocation with your gills out, or being eaten alive by bears and birds.

[lpwnage]

When your kid asks about the birds and the bees, tell them about the salmon.

[RSAgility]

Imagine if humans, after mating, turned into "zombies" like these fish....

That actually sounds like a good movie.