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Piranha found in Devon River | Piranha found in Devon River |
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| Sunday, 30 August 2009 | |
![]() Piranhas: Scourge of Devon. Photo by V. Kozers
Given Devon's history of unusual wildlife, this does make some kind of sense: we've had the Black Dogs , the Beast of Exmoor and the fabled Kangaroo of Dartmoor, so the Piranhas of the River Torridge could have been a creature whose time had come.
![]() Piranhas: Not good for paddling. Photo credit MadMaven/T.S.Heisele
But the cushy life in captivity could have been what led to its downfall: piranhas are normally only 15-20cm, so it may have been released because it grew too big for its tank The scourge of rivers in South America, a shoal of wild piranhas can strip the flesh off a whole animal in minutes with their razor sharp teeth - perhaps they are usually hungrier too!
It was no match for Devon's climate, however: the Environment Agency believe the piranha probably died because our rivers were too cold for it.
Environment Agency spokesman Paul Gainey said: "Whilst piranhas can't survive the colder climates of the UK, this latest find highlights a real issue - that releasing unwanted exotic pets or plants into rivers can have serious consequences for native wildlife.
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