Young Girl Reels In Piranha Relative With Human-Like Teeth
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FORT COBB LAKE, Okla. (CBS Local) - An 11-year-old reeled in a rare catch while fishing with her grandparents in an Oklahoma lake.
Kennedy Smith's rare find may look like a piranha, but a closer examination of the fish's mouth found a stunning row of teeth that look like a human's.
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According to the Oklahoma Game Wardens, the oddly-toothed fish is a Pacu. The Pacu is a close relative of the piranha usually found in freshwater lakes and rivers in South America.
The wildlife officials add that Pacu mostly eat plants. However, they have been known to eat meat like their carnivorous relatives. Fishermen in Oklahoma occasionally run into the rare sea creature because Pacu owners sometimes release them into the wild when they outgrow their tanks.
Pacu reportedly grow to over three feet long and can weigh as much as 88 pounds.
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Smith was even allowed to keep her special catch. Oklahoma Game Wardens encourage anglers to remove any Pacu from local waters because they are considered a hazard to the ecosystem.