Every now and again you have a week where it just makes blogging so incredibly rewarding. Earlier this week, Larissa over at Reef Botanicals presented Wild Facts with the Sunshine Award. Just after that our beloved Animal Facts Blog was featured on Daily Planet. Now, I find out that my favourite cat, Sparkle over at http://www.sparklecat.com has presented Wild Facts with the Superior Scribbler Award. I wanted to thank Sparkle the furry feline (and her human, Janiss) for being so kind and nominating Wild Facts for this prestigious award. As well, I recommend all of you to go and check out Sparkle’s website and see how a cat really thinks!
I had so much fun writing about the Pelican Eel yesterday that I thought I would keep the fish theme going. We are ending the week with a very invasive but interesting fish called the Snakehead Fish! The Snakehead is native to Africa and Asia, however, populations of this deadly fish have been introduced into North America where they are causing Government Agencies to be concerned. In fact, these fish are so deadly that they were referred to as “Fishzilla” in a recent documentary on National Geographic.
All right, what is so deadly about these ugly looking fish? Well, it is a top level predator which means it has no natural enemies, which probably has to do with the shark-like teeth, aggressive behaviour and the ability to survive anywhere. The introduction of these fish into North American lakes are causing major concerns for fisherman and regulators alike since they have the ability to decimate local fish populations. These fish will stop at nothing! They are like locusts of the fish world feeding on other fish, crustaceans, plants, basically anything they can get their teeth on. What makes these fish even more difficult to manage is the fact that when they are finished with a lake or if the lake dries up, they just move to a new lake.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that these pesky fish are able to “walk” on land. Yeah, you read that right! I will wait while you take that in……………All right, now that you have tossed that thought around in your head, I will continue to explain. You see, the Snakehead is capable of breathing atmospheric oxygen which allows it to survive out of the water for about 4 days. This adaptation obviously gives them an edge and allows them to wriggle across land to a brand new, productive, home. They have evolved this feature as a result of the natural habitat in China. It is a regular occurrence for their beloved watery homes to dry up so they needed to adapt in order to survive. You can see why American and Canadian officials are worried about this little fish setting up shop in North America. If this issue is not addressed than our fisheries could be in jeopardy.
If you would like to read more then I recommend checking out this article on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans website.
Not Welcomed in Canada: Preventing a Northern Snakehead Invasion
I always thought we would have to worry about space aliens invading Canada but I think this fish might be more deadly than some cute, green, martian.
EEEEK! Criminy, that thing is SCARY!! AND it walks on land??? I am so squishing him if I catch him walking down my street. With my car, of course.
hahahaha! Imagine how creepy it would be to see this fish just walking down the street. Probably a good idea to take a whack at this ugly thing with your car!
I agree – Eeeek Snakehead fish! How big do they get?
Congratulations on your site being a bit hit! I’m glad its high quality was recognized.
Hi Celine,
I am surprised nobody is fond of the poor guys appearance! Different species of these fish range in size, however, they generally tend to be 2 to 3 feet long.
Thanks for the kind words about Wild Facts! I am just glad people are able to enjoy nature and wildlife as much as I do.
I think I’d heard about this guy, but I’d never seen it. That’s just hideous. It looks like one of those fake sideshow exhibits where someone’s obviously sewn together two different animal corpses to make some “rare” creature that doesn’t actually exist in nature.
And congrats on all the awards and nominations!
Hi Larissa,
It certainly does look like a fake “sideshow” unfortunately it really does look like that. It is one scary looking and deadly fish if you ask me.
Thanks for making Wild Facts a regular stop, Larissa!
@Larissa, Are You Larissa Fuller ? Its Katieeeeee ,, AHahahhahahahhahahah If Your Are , Hello . Hahah But Your Probably Not ?
actualy snakeheads can survive for alot more than 4 hours out of water, its actualy more like 4 days.
Josh,
You are absolutely correct. Thank you for catching this. I am not sure why I put “hours” instead of “days” or how it went this long without anyone catching this error.
Thanks for visiting Wild Facts and for posting this incredibly helpful comment.
Have a great day!
Hey!
wow how interesting!
thats crazy, i never thought a fish like that could exist in Canada…
do they only live in the great lakes? or ANY lake?
and would they bite, or harm people?
beacause if so…. im never going to my cottage again 😛
THANKS! great site!
Hi Isabella,
Thanks for stopping by Wild Facts. The Snakehead Fish is a freshwater species and as such can live in most freshwater lakes. They currently reside in the Great Lakes as well as lakes in the Southern USA.
There are a lot of grossly exaggerated, Hollywood myths about the Snakehead fish killing people. I believe that these particular fish will bite, however, they are not going to go out of their way to attack you. I am not saying you should go and try putting your fingers in their mouth but I highly suspect they are not as vicious as they are made out to be.
I think it will be safe to enjoy your cottage for a little while.
Thanks again for reading and commenting!
awsome
I thought so too, Zack. Well, until they start destroying our ecosystem but regardless you have to be impressed with their durability.
Whate does the government do to stop them.
This is a great question, Nathan.
I know that Fisheries and Oceans Canada has been investigating the Snakehead Fish in an attempt to identify potential methods to stop the spread from American lakes into Canada.
I am not certain but I do believe in the USA, Federal and State Governments have created Northern Snakehead Management plans in an attempt to prevent their spread as well as eradicate the existing populations. An example of a Management Plan from New York State can be found at http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/45493.html
Thanks for stopping by Wild Facts and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any additional questions.
@Nathan,I’m doing a project on the snake head and i’m wondering is it from Asia or from Korea
Hi Jamlakea,
From what I can tell the family of Snakehead fish (Channidae) is native to Africa and Asia as a whole. The Northern Snakehead Fish, which is causing problems in North America is native to China as well as North and South Korea.
Best of luck with the project!
It’s crazy how there are so many other invasion species out there but thesnakeheads are what the media is focusing on. If Snakeheads managed to make it into the major waterways it could wipe out much of the current 30 billion dollar fishing industry. This can not only affect the US but Canada as well.
Check out this small blurb about Snakeheads at http://sweb1.dmit.nait.ca/~enoel1/dmit208/ !