In mid-July this year, a alligator gar was discovered in the Central Park of Ruzhou, Henan. In order to catch it, the local people spent a month draining the artificial lake water, and finally launched the official arrest on August 26. The live broadcast of many media that day even attracted hundreds of millions of people to watch. In the end, two crocodile gars, a male and a female, were captured, allowing everyone to see the true nature of this invasive species in Lushan.
However, many netizens raised a question: Is it overkill to drain the lake just to catch two crocodile gars, with tens of millions of people watching?
Is the alligator gar really that scary?
Is the crocodile gar really that scary? Why do we think alligator gar are scary?
In fact, a large part of the reason is that, as a carnivore, the alligator gar looks too similar to a crocodile, is aggressive, and is extremely harmful to the ecological environment.
The crocodile gar has a long, pointed mouth, which is full of sharp teeth, and it eats a lot. Its daily food intake is equivalent to 5% of its own body weight. Wherever the crocodile gar appears, native fish will be destroyed. Extinction predation. At the same time, alligator gar grow very fast, and it does not take long for domesticated alligator gar to grow to one meter. Many families do not have enough space to raise them, so they can only choose to "release" them, resulting in the outflow of alligator gar.
Why did the crocodile gar become the target of being "attacked in groups" overnight?
The crocodile gar must be eliminated because of its strong predatory ability and strong aggressiveness. In addition, the crocodile gar has a hard appearance and comes with its own "protective armor". It has few natural enemies in the wild. If it is not If treated in time, it will have a negative impact on the ecosystem of natural waters.
"Aquatic Assassin" may not be scary.
The danger of the crocodile gar has quickly become the "aquatic assassin" that everyone calls for beating. Will the alligator gar become the most harmful invasive species? Although the alligator gar is dangerous, I think the harm it can cause is not as great as everyone thinks.
On the one hand, the "piranha", which is also an invasive species, can even cause death; and the alligator gar is not a crocodile. Their teeth have weak bite force and do not pose much of a threat to humans. They are not like Everyone imagines that it will eat and hurt people. After all, crocodiles can only eat people after they reach 4 meters.
Although the crocodile gar has a mouth full of sharp teeth, it actually does not have much bite force. The teeth do not play a role in the eating process. Alligator gar rely on direct swallowing. The largest crocodile gar can only swallow the length of its own body. Half of the food, plus its slender and streamlined body, might not even fit into its mouth, let alone swallowing a person.
The red-bellied sawfish invaded our country in the 1980s. It also attracted much attention abroad because of its "continuous attacks on humans, resulting in four deaths and dozens of injuries." This fish also has a Nicknamed "Piranha". Even though the "piranha" is only 20-30 centimeters long, its ferocity is not the same as that of ordinary small fishes. The "piranha" has extremely sharp teeth and a super strong bite force on its lower jaw, which can not only crush fish. Bones, and even steel fishhooks with a diameter of one millimeter can be broken in one bite.
When it comes to hunting methods, the "piranha" is more similar to the crocodile. Once it bites the prey, it will clasp it tightly with its sharp teeth, and then start to rotate its body to tear off the opponent's flesh. They usually appear in groups. If someone violates the water area, they will swarm up and attack, first drowning the person and then eating the corpse.
According to reality, both crocodile gar and "piranha" may attack humans, but they generally only launch active attacks when their territory or themselves are threatened. Alligator gar do not eat humans, and the latter can cause far more fatal damage to humans than alligator gar.
On the other hand, the reproduction of crocodile gar is limited and even lost to the invaded " grass carp ".
Although the crocodile gar has strong survival ability, it is still unknown whether it can survive in our country, let alone reproduce.
In mid-July this year, a alligator gar was discovered in the Central Park of Ruzhou, Henan. In order to catch it, the local people spent a month draining the artificial lake water, and finally launched the official arrest on August 26. The live broadcast of many media that day even attracted hundreds of millions of people to watch. In the end, two crocodile gars, a male and a female, were captured, allowing everyone to see the true nature of this invasive species in Lushan.
However, many netizens raised a question: Is it overkill to drain the lake just to catch two crocodile gars, with tens of millions of people watching?
Is the alligator gar really that scary?
Is the crocodile gar really that scary? Why do we think alligator gar are scary?
In fact, a large part of the reason is that, as a carnivore, the alligator gar looks too similar to a crocodile, is aggressive, and is extremely harmful to the ecological environment.
The crocodile gar has a long, pointed mouth, which is full of sharp teeth, and it eats a lot. Its daily food intake is equivalent to 5% of its own body weight. Wherever the crocodile gar appears, native fish will be destroyed. Extinction predation. At the same time, alligator gar grow very fast, and it does not take long for domesticated alligator gar to grow to one meter. Many families do not have enough space to raise them, so they can only choose to "release" them, resulting in the outflow of alligator gar.
Why did the crocodile gar become the target of being "attacked in groups" overnight?
The crocodile gar must be eliminated because of its strong predatory ability and strong aggressiveness. In addition, the crocodile gar has a hard appearance and comes with its own "protective armor". It has few natural enemies in the wild. If it is not If treated in time, it will have a negative impact on the ecosystem of natural waters.
"Aquatic Assassin" may not be scary.
The danger of the crocodile gar has quickly become the "aquatic assassin" that everyone calls for beating. Will the alligator gar become the most harmful invasive species? Although the alligator gar is dangerous, I think the harm it can cause is not as great as everyone thinks.
On the one hand, the "piranha", which is also an invasive species, can even cause death; and the alligator gar is not a crocodile. Their teeth have weak bite force and do not pose much of a threat to humans. They are not like Everyone imagines that it will eat and hurt people. After all, crocodiles can only eat people after they reach 4 meters.
Although the crocodile gar has a mouth full of sharp teeth, it actually does not have much bite force. The teeth do not play a role in the eating process. Alligator gar rely on direct swallowing. The largest crocodile gar can only swallow the length of its own body. Half of the food, plus its slender and streamlined body, might not even fit into its mouth, let alone swallowing a person.
The red-bellied sawfish invaded our country in the 1980s. It also attracted much attention abroad because of its "continuous attacks on humans, resulting in four deaths and dozens of injuries." This fish also has a Nicknamed "Piranha". Even though the "piranha" is only 20-30 centimeters long, its ferocity is not the same as that of ordinary small fishes. The "piranha" has extremely sharp teeth and a super strong bite force on its lower jaw, which can not only crush fish. Bones, and even steel fishhooks with a diameter of one millimeter can be broken in one bite.
When it comes to hunting methods, the "piranha" is more similar to the crocodile. Once it bites the prey, it will clasp it tightly with its sharp teeth, and then start to rotate its body to tear off the opponent's flesh. They usually appear in groups. If someone violates the water area, they will swarm up and attack, first drowning the person and then eating the corpse.
According to reality, both crocodile gar and "piranha" may attack humans, but they generally only launch active attacks when their territory or themselves are threatened. Alligator gar do not eat humans, and the latter can cause far more fatal damage to humans than alligator gar.
On the other hand, the reproduction of crocodile gar is limited and even lost to the invaded " grass carp ".
Although the crocodile gar has strong survival ability, it is still unknown whether it can survive in our country, let alone reproduce.
Alligator gar also have very high requirements for the breeding environment. The breeding period of crocodile gar is from May to August every year. It needs to wait until the water temperature in natural waters rises to 20-28℃, and the water level rises enough to submerge the surrounding land plants. Alligator gar will enter the shallows to breed. If the environment is not suitable, alligator gar will also delay breeding.
The wheat dace is considered the most successful fish to invade our country because it looks very similar to many native fish and is even often mistaken for grass carp. The wheat dace grows very fast. In natural waters, the largest individual can weigh up to eight kilograms, and a female wheat dace weighing one kilogram can lay 100,000 to 150,000 eggs at a time! In terms of breeding environment, wheat dace is never restricted, whether it is reservoirs, ponds, or rivers, and can even breed in environments with rapid water flow.
It is understood that it takes six years for a male alligator gar to become sexually mature, and up to 11 years for a female to reach adulthood. Moreover, as a tropical fish, it is difficult for the alligator gar to survive in the winter in many low-temperature areas. Yes, in some areas with higher temperatures, alligator gar will enter a semi-dormant state, and it is uncertain whether they can survive the winter safely.
There are not many crocodile gar found in natural waters at present. They all appear as individuals. The crocodile gar that have been discovered and caught are still underage and there is no possibility of laying eggs outside for the time being.
Finally, the alligator gar can no longer "safely settle" in native waters like fish such as the Brazilian turtle and scavenger .
In nature, there are many invasive alien species that have successfully "settled" in China, such as Brazilian turtles, sunfish, scavengers, etc. Take the Brazilian tortoise as an example. It has extremely strong fecundity and environmental adaptability. Its emergence has encroached on my country's native biological habitats and even caused the native turtles to be almost extinct. Its large-scale spread has caused harm to the ecological environment. Huge harm. Moreover, Brazilian turtles are also mobile "bacteria spreaders". Once the Salmonella virus carried in their bodies is transmitted to the human body, it can be life-threatening in severe cases. Now, even if people want to completely eliminate the Brazilian turtle, it is more difficult.
The Brazilian tortoise is agile and protected by its turtle shell . It has almost no natural enemies in the wild. Also, because of its large number, wide distribution, and strong environmental adaptability, it is extremely difficult to eliminate it artificially. Nowadays, there are still many people who are not aware of the harm caused by Brazilian turtles. Taking advantage of the low price, Brazilian turtles are still the target of release by many people, which has also caused it to become extremely prevalent in many waters.
Alligator gar has been introduced into my country as an ornamental fish as early as 1990, but only recently has news broke about the outflow of crocodile gar.
At present, all the crocodile gar in domestic natural waters are released artificially. In addition, the crocodile gar is large and likes to surface and bask in the sun, making it easier for people to discover its existence. As the alligator gar incident unfolded, more and more people began to pay attention to this invasive alien creature, and it even became a large-scale science popularization activity to "ban the random release of wild animals." Although they are still sold in many places, the dangers of alligator gar are well known, which greatly reduces the possibility of alligator gar being released again. Many experts have even proposed that the alligator gar be included in the and lists of invasive alien species. Whether the alligator gar can survive in its native environment in the future is still a huge question.
Although the alligator gar is not the most harmful, its danger still exists. The disaster that the alligator gar brings to the ecosystem cannot be underestimated. Although the alligator gar has been controlled in time in our country, However, we still hope that through the alligator gar incident, more and more people will be able to pay attention to the harm caused by species invasion and random "release".
Here, I would also like to remind everyone that although alligator gar will not eat people, they are still dangerous. Therefore, you must stay away from places where you see alligator gar and notify the relevant departments in time to arrest them. Do not use He tried his best to catch the alligator gar without tools. After all, during the capture of the alligator gar, even the staff suffered a violent counterattack.
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