Photo: Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conversation
An 11-year-old boy recently caught a Piranha-like fish with human teeth in a pond behind his Oklahoma home.
Charlie Clinton reeled in a Pacu, which is typically found swimming in the Amazon River, yet was somehow inexplicably swimming in a pond in his Edmond neighborhood.
"I saw my bobber go down and I tried to reel it in," Charlie told ABC 7 Amarillo on Tuesday (July 18). "I thought it would let me reel it in. I thought it was a big sun fish."
"I went to my mom to tell her I needed help because this fish wasn't normal," he added.
Charlie's mom, Janna, was surprised to learn about her son reeling in the large, strange fish.
"It was pretty big considering how little Charlie is," Janna said. "For him to reel that in by himself, that is pretty impressive."
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation shared a photo of the South American fish and suggested it was released into the pond by an unidentified person.
"Dear, whoever released an entire Pacu (a South American fish closely related to Piranha) into a NEIGHBORHOOD pond; how dare you," the department wrote.
Kelly Adams, the department's communications and education supervisor, provided more details to ABC 7 Amarillo.
"I am guessing that maybe the fish got too large for the tank and they released it into a nearby body of water," Adams said. "It is not the first time we have the fish reported to us. We have had one every couple of years."
Adams did, however, specify that the Pacu doesn't pose much of a concern to humans.
"I wouldn't say they're dangerous to humans but they do pose a threat to the wild life," Adams added. "They are not a native fish so when you introduce them into our waters they're competing with fish and water resources.