BATON ROUGE, La. — A red piranha native to South America was found in a Lousiana lake earlier this week, wildlife officials said.
According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the fish was found in the Baton Rouge University Lakes, The Advocate of Baton Rouge reported.
The fish, also known as a red-bellied piranha, is a scavenger that is native to the Amazon Basin in South America, wildlife officials said.
Officials said the piranha is native to South America and illegal to own in Louisiana. Now they're investigating whether there are more in Baton Rouge. https://t.co/aIftv8AAiV
— WBRZ News (@WBRZ) May 28, 2021
Wildlife officials said they believe the piranha was a pet that was released into the lakes, a violation of state law, WBRZ reported.
“All piranha species are illegal to possess or sell in Louisiana,” LDFW officials said in a news release.
LDWF officials added that they are investigating whether there are more of the fish in the University Lakes system, WBRZ reported.
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