Piranha drama: boy, 8, hooks fearsome exotic fish in Pennsylvania lake
An eight-year-old boy caught a red-bellied piranha in a Pennsylvania lake, likely released by a former pet owner. Wildlife officials warn that releasing exotic pets into local ecosystems can cause significant environmental harm.
Why it matters
It highlights the ecological risks posed by the abandonment of exotic pets and the importance of responsible pet ownership for local biodiversity.
A red-bellied piranha: more at home in the Amazon than Pennsylvania. Photograph: Sunbird Images/imageBROKER/Shutterstock A red-bellied piranha: more at home in the Amazon than Pennsylvania. Photograph: Sunbird Images/imageBROKER/Shutterstock Pennsylvania Piranha drama: boy, 8, hooks fearsome exotic fish in Pennsylvania lake South American fish with razor-toothed jaws was probably released by someone who owned it as a pet, officials say
Prefer the Guardian on Google An eight-year-old boy fishing for bass in Pennsylvania was stunned to catch something more associated with the Amazon – and countless horror movies – than the rolling landscape of the eastern US.
Seamus Coffey, who was fishing with his father Michael in a lake near Philadelphia, hauled in a large red-bellied piranha, complete with the razor-toothed jaws that the fearsome breed is so famous for.
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