Pacu, Fish With Testicle-Eating Tendencies Caught In Illinois’ Lake Lou Yaeger

An Amazonian Pacu fish was caught by anglers in Lake Lou Yaeger, Illinois, prompting fears from some anglers about the so-called testicle-eating monster.

The Huffington Post reports that lake superintendent Jim Caldwell responded to a report on June 7th that a group of anglers had reeled in a piranha. He took the fish to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, where biologists identified it as a Pacu.

While biologists report that the fish eats nuts, snails, and vegetation, fisherman in Papua New Guinea allege that the fish, which can grow to weigh 55 pounds, is responsible for castrating two male anglers, causing them to bleed to death, reports The Daily Mail.

British angler Jeremy Wade, 53, took to the river with a wooden fishing boat, eventually catching the 40-pound monster, which locals named “The ball cutter.” Wade recalls, according to The Daily Mail, that:

“I had heard of a couple of fishermen in Papua New Guinea who had been castrated by something in the water. The bleeding was so severe that they died. The locals told me that this thing was like a human in the water, biting at the testicles of fishermen. They didn’t know what it was. It is a hot and dirty area so the people would often go to the water with their children to wash but obviously they were very worried about this thing in the water.”

Wade then described the fish by saying, “it had this mouth which was surprisingly human-like, it is almost like they have teeth specially made for crushing. They are like human molars and the fish have powerful jaw muscles. They are very deep bodied and solid like a carp, with strong muscles.”

KSDK assures, however, that the Pacu fish cannot survive Illinois waters, and that it only eats other fish if its food supply of vegetation and nuts disappears. They believe that the Pacu used to be an aquarium fish, but that someone must have dumped it, which is illegal in Illinois.

[Image courtesy of KSDK]