- November 18, 2024
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Drivers heading out on State Road 100 west of Bunnell might see an odd sight if they look south to the farms that line the roadway: The free-range cattle are all wearing black rubber boots.
The boots are farmers’ way of protecting the cows against an exotic biting fish that has made it into local canals and lakes, and state biologists are advising residents to use caution as well.
The fish, called the kusa and native to South America, are distant relatives of the piranha. But they have one quality that makes them hard to contain: like walking catfish, they can leave the water and walk on their fins, turning up in small ponds, pools and sometimes backyard puddles.
“At this point, we don’t have an exact number for how many are here,” said Karen Thayer, a biologist with the state’s agricultural extension service. “We’ve trapped six of them, but we’ve heard anecdotal evidence of more.”
C-section resident Billy Hart, 54, said several cats and small dogs disappeared from neighborhood backyards along the water over the past few weeks.
"I'm not saying for sure,” he said. “I mean, who knows what happens when a dog disappears? But it's hard not to see two and two and think 'four.’” Hart said some residents who'd heard about the sharp-toothed fish are taking precautions.
"Martha Conroy — she lives across the street, the home with all the cats — she's been fixing those plastic gallon Ziplock bags around their feet with rubber bands before she lets them out in the morning," he said.
Thayer, the marine biologist, said Conroy's bags probably wouldn't be thick enough to deter the fish, and that foot protection is probably unnecessary for cats, which generally avoid water.
For more April Fool’s Day news stories, see palmcoastobserver.com.
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