Salmons: Salmoniformes

Some salmons are fiercely territorial and protect their living or breeding area. Others form schools soon after hatching and start their trip to the sea. The most remarkable characteristic of salmons is their strong swimming ability. Some can leap over obstacles, such as waterfalls, as high as 10 feet (3 meters). Salmons also are famous for returning to the stream of their birth after migrating thousands of miles in the ocean for one or more years. Salmons lay eggs that are fertilized (FUR-teh-lyezd), or penetrated by sperm to start development, outside the female.