Monster Fish Alligator Gar Emerge in 8 China Province
Alligator Gar or “Monster Fish” has captured after a month-long searched for one resulted in the complete lake’s draining last week in China.
Since then, other claims of more catches and sightings around the nation have surfaced. There have been reports of alligator gar sightings in at least eight provinces, which has earned the species the moniker “monster fish” on the Chinese mainland.
This came after a lake in central China was completely drained over the weekend, which led to the capture of two of the invasive fish species.
Following a publicized month-long search for it that culminated in the draining of an entire lake in the city of Ruzhou in the province of Henan, the enormous species of freshwater fish, which has razor-sharp teeth and can grow up to three meters long, has captured the attention of the country.
Based on the report of ABS CBN News that the previously unknown fish has already been discovered in other regions of the country, including Beijing, raising concerns that it may harm locals and the environment because it has few natural predators.
A male and a female alligator gar measuring 70 and 90 cm respectively, which are typically found in North and Central America and are thought to have reached China through the exotic pet trade, were captured and given “harmless treatment” in the Ruzhou lake on Saturday.
After a local resident reported seeing the fish in July, a month-long hunt was launched in response, and the fish was eventually caught. The secretive animal eluded capture by big fishing nets and a sonar tracker, so city officials last week drained the over 200,000 cubic meter lake.
Workers also drained a pond in a residential area of Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province in southwest China, on Friday to catch an alligator gar, which resulted in the disappearance of smaller fish and crustaceans that had been residing there, according to official broadcaster CCTV.
The report mentioned that, the Jingjiang Daily reported on August 18 that a youngster in Jingjiang, Jiangsu Province, eastern China, had a finger wound after allegedly being bitten by fish in a pond at a housing complex.
The Beijing Daily reported on August 1 that neighbors in another Beijing neighborhood grabbed a 50-centimeter-long “alligator” that was actually an alligator gar. Local media said that similar sightings have also lately been reported in Hunan, Guangxi, Ningxia, Qinghai, and Shandong.
According to experts, the release of fish by owners who had purchased them as pets is thought to be the primary cause of the non-native species’ expanding presence.
“The most common invasive animals we found to have been released are fishes like alligator gars. Red-eared sliders and alligator snapping turtles are also common,” Lili Beijing-based wildlife protection organisation said.
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