Testicle-eating fish found in Illinois lake just wants to be loved

It’s called the Pacu, a native fish species of South America and relative of the Piranha. And at least two of them were found in an Illinois lake recently. That’s a picture of the one they caught, and yes, those are real teeth. The Pacu, you see, is known in parts of South America as “the testicle-eating fish.”

Video here.

According to several sources, the one pictured here was caught in Lake Lou Yaeger (northeast of St. Louis) in Illinois, and at least one more has been seen in the lake. Fish and Game officials say, however, that the Pacu’s diet consists mainly of “nuts, aquatic vegetation and snails” (yep), and so there is little danger to humans.

Residents of Papua New Guinea may beg to differ. There, according to British fisherman Jeremy Wade, the pacu is known as the “ball cutter.” In 2011, Wade said locals informed him that two fisherman had died from blood loss after something in the water had bitten off their testicles, according to the Metro.

“The locals told me that this thing was like a human in the water, biting at the testicles of fishermen,” Wade said. Wade determined that the perpetrator was the pacu, which is known for having human-like teeth. The angler did note that such attacks are uncommon, the Daily Mail reports.

Though pacus are native to the Amazon Basin, they were released into Papua New Guinea waters in the 1990s as part of an initiative to boost fisheries.

But, as you see, it’s a beautiful day, the beaches are open and people are having a wonderful time. Amity, as you know, means “friendship”.

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Fish with teeth found in Lake Lou Yaeger in Litchfield, Illinois [KSDK]