The Chinese government opened a can of worms.
A “monster” fish with razor-sharp teeth has been slipping away from Chinese authorities for weeks as they scramble to catch the beast, according to a report Thursday.
Millions of people have tuned into the hunt for the invasive alligator gar, which can grow up to 10 feet long and is believed to pose a threat to ecosystems and humans, according to the Washington Post.
The 27-inch fish, which is known for its ravenous appetite, was first spotted in Yunchan Lake in the city of Ruzhou in central China last month — sparking an effort to capture the creature and keep it from harming local plants and animals, the paper reported.
After the fish outsmarted authorities for two weeks, officials announced Tuesday they would begin draining the 30-acre body of water, prompting TikTok influencers and media outlets to flock to the lake.
But, as water levels lowered, the fish was still nowhere to be seen as of Wednesday as at least 37 million people watched a livestream of the hunt via the state-run tabloid Chutian Metropolis Daily.
“I am starting [a] fire to cook it,” one observer said on the livestream.
On Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, another added, “With all this fanfare, one would think this was about catching the Loch Ness Monster.”
Government officials later claimed the torpedo-shaped creature could be hiding in a 200-yard-long U-shaped pipeline leading to the lake.
The fish, which are native to North and South America, were likely introduced to the country through the exotic pet trade, and are prized for their strange spotted look.
They have few natural predators and may attack humans if they feel threatened or cornered, though those incidents are rare, experts said.
“When a gar gets released into a river, lake or fish farm here, it will start to devour everything, which can be a great threat to local ecosystems,” Gu Dangen, an aquatic ecosystems expert at the Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, told the paper.
But Gu said Chinese authorities may have overreacted.
“Economically, of course, it’s not worth it. Are we going to drain every lake when we spot gars there?” he said.
