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"Now I can look at you in peace; I don't eat you anymore."
---Franz Kafka to a fish
Fish Are Fascinating Animals
Though they may seem very different from us, fish are actually communicative and sensitive animals. Without the aid of sophisticated equipment, however, humans can easily overlook the complexity of these underwater animals.
 Jacques Cousteau once called oceans "the silent world," and, for years, many scientists agreed. But when a researcher from the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., went scuba diving with a modified microphone, he was "overwhelmed by the sound." For example, groupers bark when they spot predators, cichlids emit mating grunts, and hamlet fish even make orgasmic squeals.
Others, like the "electric" fish of Africa and South America, communicate by transmitting electrical signals.
Fish have sensory hairs on their backs that register vibrations and electrical fields, and they have taste buds in their throats, as well as in their lips and noses. They use their mouths much as we use our fingers, to pick things up and feel them—and to collect food, build homes, and take care of their babies (when danger is near, some fish open their mouths to allow their babies to hide inside). In fact, fish’s mouths are so exquisitely sensitive to stimuli, any pain they experience is especially acute.
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