In the wild, they feast gregariously in shallow waters, encircling shoals of small fish, scooping them up in their pouches.

ECONOMIST: Eating as much as their belly can

As a traditional feast got under way, with festival organisers baking enough fish to feed 1, 500, a makeshift community sprang up: an accordion band played under a gazebo, families sold empanadas, Corona and Sprite from the back of their Jeeps, and kids played Polynesian pop music through portable speakers.

BBC: Easter Island��s greatest festival

The bigger the flood, the greater the feast on offer, and so the fatter and more numerous the fish.

ECONOMIST: The Mekong river