Janna Clinton sat on her back porch on a Saturday in July as she watched her 11-year-old son fish in the pond behind their house in Oklahoma.
In response to Charlie’s cries for help, his mother jumped out of her chair and sprinted over to her son, who was astonished by the creature hanging from the end of his fishing line.
Bass and catfish love to hang out in the neighborhood pond owned by the Clintons. But over the weekend of July 14, Charlie came across a strange species and asked his mother, Janna, for assistance.
Oh my God, Mom! he exclaimed. Oh my God, the mother exclaimed. “I honestly thought he was just being dramatic. “.
When she took a closer look, she discovered the catch had human-like fangs.
I mean, nothing with human-like teeth,” she said, adding that the fish fought hard. “Obviously, we’re used to catching a few bass or catfish in a nearby pond. It fought hard, according to Charlie. He did a fantastic job fishing despite being the only person there.
“.
Residents who saw the post and photos of the bizarre fish commented: “THOSE ARE HUMAN TEETH,” one user noted, while another yelled, “What in the world!?!?” That’s strange!” The Clintons posted a photo of the bizarre fish on their neighborhood Facebook page.
Some advised the family to interact with wildlife. Thank you for taking it seriously, one user writes, adding, “You might want to report that to someone in wildlife or something. That is not a catch-and-release situation.”.
The family put the fish back in the pond before approaching wildlife to tell them about their day’s unusual catch. It’s a catch-and-release pond, and we returned it because, at the time, we had no better knowledge, according to Janna.
“There, we made a mistake.
“.
Charlie had caught a pacu, which is a piranha’s cousin from South America, the family discovered. Unlike its omnivorous relatives, who have razor-sharp teeth and an underbite, the pacu has square teeth and a slight overbite.
Wildlife officials believe it was a pet that outgrew its tank and was released into the wild. It is unknown how it came to be in the pond in a suburb north of Oklahoma City.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) tweeted, “Dear, whoever released an entire Pacu (a South American fish closely related to Piranha) 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
The Tweet sparked discussion among internet users, who were shocked by its razor-sharp fangs.
One user who was perplexed asked, “WHY DOES IT HAVE HUMAN TEETH?”.
ODWC replied, “IDK WE DIDN’T MAKE THEM,” and then immediately followed up with, “Charlie Clinton caught your fish. ” He is 11. NEVER LET YOUR PETS GO OUT. They are an invasive, exotic species that could negatively impact our regional ecosystems. This could result in a terrifying situation that is extremely dangerous for the environment.
Oklahoma had previously seen the discovery of a pacu. In July 2018, less than two hours away from the Clintons, Kennedy Smith, then 11 years old, snatched a pacu from Marina Cove at ft\. Cobb Lake.
“Pacu have been caught in a few fisheries in Oklahoma before,” the Oklahoma Game Wardens wrote in a Facebook post at the time. The non-native pacu was probably released into Oklahoman waters after people who had bought them as pets outgrew the tanks in which they were raised had raised them. Pacu weighs 88 pounds and can grow as tall as 3 15 feet. “.
These strange fish have the terrifying nickname “the ball cutters,” despite the fact that they are typically safe for humans. “.
In 2011, skinny-dipping Swedes were warned after a pacu was seen in the Oresund Sound.
Fishermen who had their testicles bit off and died as a result, according to fish expert Henrik Carl, who added that incidents like this have happened in other nations like Papua New Guinea.
Because they are hungry and their testicles fit comfortably in their mouths, Carl explained that they bite. He continued, “It typically preys on nuts, fruit, and small fish, but human testicles are just a natural target. “.
Charlie has been chasing the pacu at the pond in the meantime in an effort to lure it with bait once more.
Janna recalled her son’s late-night attempts to catch the prized catch, saying, “He did stay at the ponds pretty late that night trying to catch it again.” Janna’s son fishes from early in the morning until late at night. “We’ll have it mounted for him if he manages to catch it again. “That’s a fantastic prize, and he deserves it… I promised him we’d make the fish smile so you could see its teeth. “.
Despite the fact that the pacu is a frightening fish, we feel sorry for the animal because it was taken from its natural habitat and then released into a new one when its owner was unable to care for it. The most significant risk associated with this behavior is the harm it causes to the environment.