Strange "sea monsters" appeared in Binh Duong, experts warn of dangerous poison

Recently, people exercising at the revolutionary relic of Ho Lang, Binh Duong, discovered a giant fish, weighing tens of kilograms, with strange shapes swimming in the lake.

Le Anh Huu, who first saw the fish, said it was the first time he had seen such a strange and large fish. The fish swims in the lake, acts like greeting people, then dives away. According to people with knowledge of the fish, through images, the fish was identified as a rocket crocodile.

Dr. Nguyen cum Son, Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, said that rocket crocodiles are freshwater fish native to and distributed mainly in ponds and lakes in North America, scientific name is Lepisosteus Oculatus Winchell belongs to the order Lepisosteiformes (order long-snouted fish).

The fish has a bizarre shape such as snake scales, a crocodile head, a smooth body like a snakehead. Because of their special form, they are often hunted by Vietnamese aquarists to keep in aquarium aquariums and given other names such as Phuc Loc Tho fish, rocket crocodile, spotted frogfish ...

Despite being kept in a tight environment, rocket crocodiles can still reach a length of 1m and reach a weight of tens of kilograms in a few years. In particular, in the process of captivity, some people have released and released fish into rivers and lakes, which is a very dangerous act.

In the natural environment, due to its voracity and aggressiveness, this fish grows quickly. And with their rounded bodies, pointed and long muzzles, they take up all the food in the ecosystem. The organisms and ecosystems of the area where the rocket crocodiles live are severely affected. "Where there are crocodiles living, other aquatic species will be destroyed. Any animal that eats crocodile eggs will also be poisoned and die in a short time," said Dr. Nguyen cum Son.

He also added that when people catch this fish for food or ornamental farming, they should not release it back into the wild to avoid harming native fish as well as threatening the environment and affecting biodiversity. Because this fish mainly eats meat, eats waterfowl and also eats other crocodiles.

In particular, the eggs and flesh around the eggs of the rocket crocodile contain the poison ichthyotoxin. This is a toxic substance on the digestive system (causes nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea), the nervous system (headache, sweating, dizziness, tinnitus, convulsions) and cardiovascular (arrhythmia, hypotension).

In the world there have been several reports of patients with poisoning of this type. At the Poison Control Center of Bach Mai Hospital, there have been similar patients in the past. In experiments, scientists fed rats crocodile eggs, and rats also had bad results.

At the same time, the expert added, crocodile eggs and liver are highly toxic, although they do not cause unconsciousness, immediate apnea, but cause vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea that causes dehydration, depletion of the body, kidney failure and can lead to the passage if not cured in time. People should be aware of this fish, so that if processed, absolutely remove the liver, eggs and wash the belly of the fish before cooking.

Rocket crocodiles have a fairly long lifespan, if cared for and lived in the right conditions they will have a lifespan of about 10 years. However, they have aggressive behavior, fast growth and are very voracious, so they should not be kept with other small fish, avoiding the situation that they will eat other fish.

Rocket crocodiles can live in a variety of habitats with varying salinities, from freshwater lakes to swamps, then to brackish waters, estuaries and bays. Therefore, it is easy to raise anywhere, you can raise them easily.

This crocodile was introduced to Vietnam by unofficial route. Some people in the process of raising fish released them into rivers and lakes, causing this fish to grow and multiply rapidly, harming the natural ecosystem.

Crocodiles dumped into ponds, lakes, rivers and streams are threatening the environment and native biodiversity. However, there is currently no official opinion of management agencies or scientists about this fish with a particularly aggressive structure and behavior.

There was a time when crocodile farming became a movement. However, by the end of 2013, when the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development stipulated an administrative sanction of 40-100 million VND for individuals and organizations that store and cultivate dangerous alien species, this game has stopped.

The rocket crocodile is a very dangerous aquatic creature, but there is no documented evidence that the rocket crocodile directly attacks humans. However, its omnivorousness is no different from the Piranhas (sawtoothfish or "tiger fish") native to southwestern Brazil.

Responsibility for the management of foreign organisms lies not only with State agencies but also with the people themselves. People must be aware and understand thoroughly, instead of just seeing the entertainment side and forgetting the negative side of that creature.

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