They called it the Electrical Gar Destroyer.Ĭombine those direct threats with habitat loss due to dam construction and floodplain draining, and alligator gar are now extremely rare in the upper river systems of America where they were once common. In the 1930s, the Texas Game and Fish Commission even built a boat that discharged electric volts into the water. (Learn more about freshwater fish.)īut their role as top hunter has earned alligator gar a bad reputation with anglers and even state wildlife managers, who sometimes tried to exterminate the animals, thinking they were competitors to game fish. The freshwater species keep prey populations in check by hunting smaller fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds, David says. “They have to swallow their prey whole, so they’re harmless to humans.”Īlligator gar, which can weigh more than 300 pounds, are like their namesake in one way: They’re apex predators, which means they provide critical ecosystem services to their home habitats-which is mostly the middle and lower Mississippi River watershed in the U.S. Many don’t realize that the 10-foot-long alligator gar still exists, but when they do, their first thoughts often turn to fear, says Solomon David, a fish ecologist at Nicholls State University in Louisiana.īut “they’re not like alligators, lions or other animals that can tear off pieces of prey,” says David. Bony scales covering its body make it look like an armored dinosaur, and for good reason: North America’s second-biggest fish has been thriving since the late Jurassic period, 157 million years ago. The alligator gar is a snaggle-toothed fish longer than a park bench and heavier than a mountain lion.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |