Exotic Pacu Fish With Human-Like Teeth Caught by an 11-Year-Old Boy in an Oklahoman Pond

An invasive exotic fish with human-like teeth was caught by an 11-year-old boy while fishing in a pond in Oklahoma over the weekend. This prompts wildlife conservation officials to warn about the damage they can cause to the local ecosystem.

Exotic Fish with Unusual Bite

Charlie Clinton was fishing in a pond behind their house when he started yelling about his weird catch. It turns out that the boy caught a pacu fish, a native of South America, which is also a cousin of the piranha. Before returning it to the water, Charlie and his mother, Janna, posted a photo of the strange fish to their neighborhood Facebook page.

Upon recognizing the fish, people identified it as invasive and suggested that it should not be released into the water. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation officials believe that the discovered pacu could be a pet fish that outgrew its tank and was released into the wild.

This is not the first time that a pacu was caught in Oklahoma. In 2018, an 11-year-old girl named Kennedy Smith caught a pacu while fishing with her grandparents. The fish, which weighs about 1 pound, bit her grandmother while trying to remove the hook from its mouth.

Pacu fish are known for their impressive size and strange appearance. It can grow up to 3.5 feet long and weigh 88 pounds. It also belongs to the Characin family, where piranhas also belong, although it exhibits a more docile temperament when compared to its aggressive cousins. With proper care and nutrition, the pacu fish can live from 15 -20 years.

Among its physical characteristics, its human-like teeth are the most distinctive feature since they look like human molars. Scientists believe having human-like teeth is one of the adaptations of pacu, which has allowed them to crush fruits, nuts, and seeds, which comprise a large part of their diet. The pacu fish also possess powerful jaw muscles. Surprisingly, this fish species also has a mild, slightly sweet flavor.

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Threats of Invasive Fish to Local Waters

Some strange fish like pacu are generally not harmful to humans. However, the practice of releasing pets that do not naturally thrive in an area could be harmful to native wildlife. According to the Department of Wildlife Conservation, the pacu fish threatens the native Oklahoma ecosystem.

The negative impact on the local environment depends on the fish species that have been released. An invasive fish or any living organism foreign to the environment will likely compete with the native species for food and habitat. If it is a predator, it can even directly eat some of the native species. Dumping aquarium fish into a local body of water can introduce some diseases that are not naturally found in the local waterways.

In response to this problem, government authorities propose alternative solutions to releasing pet fish if the owner can no longer care for them. The animal can be given to family, friends, school, or other community organizations. Some institutions, such as animal shelters, science centers, and zoos, accept donated pets.