Posted on 03/31/2010 5:10:27 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
A mysterious predator which devours adult ducks by pulling them beneath the water at a popular beauty spot has been nicknamed the "Lough Ness Monster" by locals.
The creature is believed to have killed at least three fully-grown birds at the lake, leaving only a smattering of feathers as evidence of the crimes.
Witnesses have so far been unable to identify the perpetrator, although pike, catfish and even mink have been suggested as possible culprits.
Local councillors are now warning schoolchildren not to go paddling at the site, and dog owners have been being asked not to let smaller animals swim in the waters.
One dog walker described her horror at seeing a mallard disappear into the water at Stonebow Washlands in Loughborough, Leicestershire, never to be seen again.
She said: “I saw two mallards and the female was flapping her wings. I thought she may be cleaning herself, but she was quite frantic and was going up and down. Next thing I knew she was gone.
“I went over to have a closer look. The male was still there and I was about 30 feet away watching him intently. I stood there for two or three minutes and then in a flash all that was left on the water was a few feathers.”
The number of ducks on the lake have dwindled since the killer creature started terrorising the area.
Now users of the lagoons are being warned not to go into the water and local schoolchildren have been told not to go pond-dipping at the site. Dog owners are also being asked not to let smaller animals swim in the waters.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I dont think they got snappers over there, at least I ddont recall them talking about them.
They dont like to eat pike over there either. I told them that if they dont like the bones, just can the cripples.
When I was a kid you should have seen the size of one they drug out of the Red River.
I only had it once, but the smaller ‘soft shelled’ snappers are really good eating
I’m thinking they have a Kraken problem.
Since they live to be ancient, who knows *how* big they can potentially get?
[and dad and everybody else wants the Little Pool Legend for lunch, too]....LOL
They can live to be 150 years old.
Check out this monster.
Just...damn.
Sounds like an Alligator Snapping Turtle.
Wow. My then 4yr old daughter found a baby alligator snapping turtle in the gutter of our subdivision last spring. It was about the size of a silver dollar. Fortunately, she didn’t lose any fingers. lol
I was looking at pics of baby ones.
They really start out kinda cute....and then everything goes horribly *wrong*....LOL
Man that thing could eat alligators. It looks like it just came out of ‘journey to the center of the earth’.
In a tank or not, you wouldn’t catch me sticking ~my~ face up near that monster.
{{{{shudder}}}}
Yep. We had alligator snapping turtles that made baby ducks their appetizers and grown ducks their meals. I once ‘caught’ one while fishing- dumb thing decided to take the bait. Had to scream for my brothers to help me. That thing must have weighted at least 40lbs. Scary looking creature.
Never saw a snapper in action before. They can move a lightning speed. Wow is right!
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