Northern Pike
Scientific name Esox lucius
Adult size
Five-year-old males and females from one Dnieper-Bug Canal cohort; these are measured cohort means, not species-wide adult ranges.
- Weight
- ♀F 0.955 kg ♂M 0.586 kg
- Length
- ♀F 0.427 m ♂M 0.413 m
- Body depth
- ♀F 0.073 m ♂M 0.073 m
- Top speed burst
- 10.3 km/h
- Lifespan
- Northern Pike can reach 30 years in maximum-age records.
Northern Pike is native across much of northern North America and Eurasia, including Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, Great Lakes and Mississippi basin systems, with many introduced populations elsewhere.
The range
Two regions, one species.
The northern pike doesn't live in one place. Across the map below, each region has its own pressures, prey, and politics — same biology, different worlds.
North America
Alaska and Canada through the northern United States, including Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, Great Lakes and Mississippi basin systems
Native and introduced status varies by drainage.
Source ↗Europe and northern Asia
Broad cool-temperate and subarctic freshwater range
Introductions outside native drainages can alter fish communities.
Source ↗
Daily life
What the northern pike does, day to day.
Diet, social behaviour, climate — the everyday biology that shapes how this species hunts, defends and survives.
Diet
Northern Pike mainly hunt fishes, but can also take invertebrates and amphibians, with occasional larger prey recorded.
Social life
It is usually a solitary cover hunter, waiting among vegetation or structure before accelerating into a short ambush.
Climate
Cool temperate freshwater across much of the northern hemisphere.
Wyld Trivia
Five questions. Most people get them wrong.
But you're not most people.
Tap to reveal.
Why is Northern Pike such a good ambush hunter?
Show meHideIts long body, rear-set fins, flat snout and large toothy mouth are built for waiting under cover and accelerating over a short distance.
Where does it live?
Show meHideIt lives in freshwater lakes, vegetated shallows, quiet pools, backwaters, rivers and reservoirs across much of the northern hemisphere.
How fast can it swim?
Show meHideOne measured burst record reaches about 10.3 km/h for a 44 cm fish. That is a brief burst measurement, not its everyday cruising pace.
How big is an adult male?
Show meHideSize changes with age and place. In one canal study, five-year-old males averaged 41.30 cm long, 585.75 g and 7.25 cm deep through the body.
What does it eat?
Show meHideFish are the main prey, but Northern Pike can also take invertebrates and amphibians, with occasional larger prey recorded.
The terrain
Where the northern pike thrives.
Every animal is built for some places more than others. These are the ground, hours and weather where this species shows its best — and its worst.
Ground
- Freshwater lakeExcels
- Vegetated marginExcels
- River backwaterExcels
- Submerged coverExcels
- Quiet poolExcels
- ReservoirExcels
- Open waterAverage
- Fast rapidsAvoids
- SaltwaterAvoids
- Dry landAvoids
Hours
- DawnExcels
- DuskExcels
- DayStrong
- NightAverage
Weather
- Cool freshwaterExcels
- Temperate freshwaterExcels
- Cold freshwaterExcels
- Tropical waterAvoids
- MarineAvoids
Five things you didn't know about the northern pike.
Cited biology that shapes how the northern pike feeds, defends, survives.
Northern Pike belongs to the pike family, a group of long-bodied freshwater fish. Source ↗
Its long flat snout, large toothy mouth and fins set far back on the body suit sudden ambushes. Source ↗
It often waits close to underwater plants, quiet pools, backwaters and other cover before attacking. Source ↗
In one measured canal population, five-year-old males averaged 41.30 cm long and 585.75 g, while five-year-old females averaged 42.70 cm and 955.20 g. Source ↗
Measured burst records reach 2.86 m/s, about 10.3 km/h, for a 44 cm standard-length fish. Source ↗
About the northern pike
Where the northern pike sits on the tree of life.
Class
Actinopterygii
Ray-finned fish — the huge fish group with thin bony fin rays.
Order
Esociformes
A group of related families — Esociformes.
Family
Esocidae
A family of related species — Esocidae.
Species
Esox lucius
Northern Pike — the species this page is about.
Northern Pike
Every fact, cited.
Biology cited on this page comes from peer-reviewed zoology and the major species databases. Click through for the underlying study, dataset or assessment.
- GBIF species profile · gbif.org
- FishBase · fishbase.se
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · fws.gov
- U.S. Geological Survey · usgs.gov
