Alligator-like predator fish in Kolkata waters threatens ecosystem

Alligator Gar can grow up to eight feet and has been known to sometimes attack humans

Indian experts are concerned about the discovery of an alligator-like predatory fish in Kolkata that can destroy local ecosystem and biodiversity.

Alligator Gar, which resembles an alligator with long sharp teeth and equally predatory instincts, can grow up to eight feet and has been known to sometimes attack humans.

Shibu Mondol, a local angler, caught a 3.5-feet long gar from Subhas Sarovar in Kolkata’s eastern fringe of Beliaghata two months ago.

PHOTO COURTESY: HINDUSTAN TIMES

Biodiversity experts, ecologists and anglers say the fish could kill almost every other fish in the lake.



The prehistoric relatives of this mega fish inhabited many parts of the world, but today gars live only in North and Central America. Of the seven known species, the Alligator Gar is the largest.

“It is a highly carnivorous fish. It not only kills other fishes but there are reports of it attacking humans too. The fish’s egg is also poisonous. It has no natural enemies and hence can become invasive in no time destroying the local ecosystem and biodiversity,” Mathe Rajeev Mathew, expert member of the India’s National Biodiversity Authority and the Telangana State Biodiversity Board, said.

Alligator Gar has already become a nuisance in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and reports of the fish spreading fast and becoming invasive in water bodies of Tamil Nadu are also pouring in.

In 2015, an Alligator Gar was caught from a well in Dadar in Mumbai. A group of experts has been called in to tackle the menace.

“This is the first time that this species has been caught in the city. We would like to send a team and collect the specimen. We would also try to explore the lake to check if their population has proliferated and how big is the threat,” KC Gopi, a fish expert of the Zoological Survey of India, said.



Mondol – the person who caught the fish – gave a scary account of how he caught the fish as it tried to attack him and snap his finger. Mondol is a member of the West Bengal Angler’s Association and fishes regularly in Subhas Sarovar.

“Unlike a Rohu or Katla fish, which usually tries to drag the rope deep into the pond after it is hooked, this fish was lying idle in the water like a tortoise. When I started pulling it out of the water, I was shocked to see the alligator-like snout. I screamed and residents rushed to the spot. The fish after being pulled out not only made a dart to bite me but also killed a Katla fish which I caught earlier,” Mondol said.

The Alligator Gar that Mondol caught weighed more than five kilos.

One of Mondol’s friends killed the fish and ate its meat that tasted sour. Mondol, however, managed to retain the skin and head and is drying to preserve it.

“We couldn’t cut the fish with a knife. It was so hard that it had to be hacked with an axe,” Mondol said.

This article originally appeared on the Hindustan Times.