14 DAY TRIAL // Rumor has it that New York's Central Park might be home to a species of Frankenfish, which can survive out of the water for several days in a row, provided that environmental conditions are favorable.
The northern snakehead fish, as this species is referred to by wildlife researchers, is native to China, Russia and Korea. Thus, it has no business inhabiting lakes in the United States.
Conservationists warn that this invasive species is likely to badly damage the country's natural ecosystems.
This is because the northern snakehead fish is a predator that feeds on frogs, other fish and pretty much everything that happens to cross its path.
According to Daily Mail, this invasive species was spotted in Queens and Harlem several years ago.
Officials in New York are now planning to survey Central Park's Harlem Meer and try to figure out whether or not several such Frankenfish inhabit it.
Should things go as planned, the survey is to be carried out in the days to come, the same source informs us.
“It's a top predator so it eats other fish and alot of other things and it also produces a lot of eggs. Hopefully we won't find any,” argued Melissa Cohen of the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Apart from their carrying out this survey, officials have put up signs asking that anglers who catch one or more such fish do not throw them back in the water, but contact officials and give the fish to them.
“[The sign] is just to let people know that this fish is in there, if you find it please do not return it to the water and it also helps people become aware that there are things in the water that should not be there,” Melissa Cohen reportedly said.
Due to the fact that the northern snakehead fish constitutes a major threat to natural ecosystems it is not native to, selling or transporting such specimens or their eggs is currently illegal in the state of New York.