(NewsReady.com) – Bodies of water are filled with all kinds of weird creatures and plants. An 11-year-old recently found out just how strange they could be when he went fishing. Now his catch has made national headlines.
Janna Clinton told NPR that she was sitting on the porch of her home while her son was fishing in the pond of their Oklahoma home. Suddenly he started screaming for his mom to look at what he’d caught. She said her son’s catch was not the typical fish found in the neighborhood pond.
Charlie had snagged a pacu fish on his line. The weird South American native is a cousin of the piranha and has a mouth full of human-like teeth. Unlike its relative, it doesn’t pose a threat to humans because it’s a vegetarian. The fish can grow several feet long, weigh up to 97 pounds (depending on the breed), and are usually solid colors like white, black, silver, and gray. The fish are known for being highly adaptable and adjusting their behavior in unfavorable conditions. Their ability to adapt allows them to take over their environment.
Janna said her son told her the fish “put up a heck of a fight.” The pond where Charlie was fishing is a catch-and-release location, so after taking a photo of the fish, they put it back in the water. But when they contacted a game warden later, they learned they should have kept the fish because it’s invasive. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation posted about the pacu on Twitter, saying, “Dear, whoever released an entire Pacu […] into a NEIGHBORHOOD pond; how dare you.”
Dear, whoever released an entire Pacu (a South American fish closely related to Piranha) into a NEIGHBORHOOD pond;
how dare you. pic.twitter.com/WwQqJ9REAz
— Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (@OKWildlifeDept) July 18, 2023
Janna said putting it back in the water was a mistake. Now, the 11-year-old has been trying to catch the fish again. She said that if he can reel it in again, then she thinks she will mount it for him so that he can keep it.
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