The Fish That Climbs Waterfalls

In the rivers of Hawaii lives a small fish called the rock-climbing goby. It is smaller than your finger. But this little fish does something amazing: it climbs waterfalls.

V riekach na Havaji žije malá rybka, ktorá sa volá hlaváč skalolezec. Je menšia ako tvoj prst. Ale táto malá rybka robí niečo úžasné: lezie po vodopádoch.

The goby is born in the river, high in the mountains. After it hatches, the water carries the baby fish down to the sea. When it is bigger, it must return to the calm water high up the mountain. There is only one way: up. The goby holds the wet rock with its mouth, which works like a small suction cup. It also has a second sucker on its belly. Mouth, belly, mouth, belly. Centimetre by centimetre, it climbs straight up the rock behind the falling water.

Hlaváč sa narodí v rieke vysoko v horách. Po vyliahnutí voda odnesie malú rybku dolu k moru. Keď je väčšia, musí sa vrátiť do pokojnej vody vysoko v horách. Existuje len jedna cesta: nahor. Hlaváč sa drží mokrej skaly ústami, ktoré fungujú ako malá prísavka. Má aj druhú prísavku na bruchu. Ústa, brucho, ústa, brucho. Centimeter po centimetri lezie priamo hore po skale za padajúcou vodou.

Some of these waterfalls are taller than a twenty-storey building. For a fish this small, that is like a person climbing a mountain many kilometres high. The goby does not hurry. It just never stops.

Niektoré z týchto vodopádov sú vyššie ako dvadsaťposchodová budova. Pre takú malú rybku je to ako keby človek liezol na horu vysokú mnoho kilometrov. Hlaváč sa neponáhľa. Len nikdy neprestáva.