Friday, September 10, 2004
A FORTEAN MOMENT
Giant catfish blamed for dog's disappearance
Berlin - A giant catfish is suspected of having eaten a dog in a German lake near the Polish border, a media report said on Friday.
The estimated 1.5m catfish has been making waves in the small lake near Gueldendorf for several years, the Berliner Kurier newspaper reported.
Catfish are generally scavengers that feed on plants and animals on the beds of lakes and rivers. They can on rare occasions grow up to 4.5m and weigh up to 300kg.
But the giant fish has developed other tastes and is emptying the lake of all the other fish. Now a small dachshund dog is believed to have been pulled under and eaten, said the report.
Lutz Affedlt, head of the Gueldendorfer Fisherman's Club, says the fish was probably planted in the lake by someone.
Several club members say they have had the phantom fish on their lines but that it has always broken off.
Attempts to net the giant catfish and to use electroshocks to stun it have so far failed.
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Giant catfish blamed for dog's disappearance
Berlin - A giant catfish is suspected of having eaten a dog in a German lake near the Polish border, a media report said on Friday.
The estimated 1.5m catfish has been making waves in the small lake near Gueldendorf for several years, the Berliner Kurier newspaper reported.
Catfish are generally scavengers that feed on plants and animals on the beds of lakes and rivers. They can on rare occasions grow up to 4.5m and weigh up to 300kg.
But the giant fish has developed other tastes and is emptying the lake of all the other fish. Now a small dachshund dog is believed to have been pulled under and eaten, said the report.
Lutz Affedlt, head of the Gueldendorfer Fisherman's Club, says the fish was probably planted in the lake by someone.
Several club members say they have had the phantom fish on their lines but that it has always broken off.
Attempts to net the giant catfish and to use electroshocks to stun it have so far failed.
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