Swimmers looking for a welcome break from the ongoing heatwave fled in fear when they discovered the small Illinois lake they swam in had evil-looking fish with human-like teeth. The horrific creatures seem to be breeding in the lake far from their native homes of the Amazon River and Papua New Guinea. Area authorities assured the media that the fish are not piranha and aren't dangerous. But the authorities are wrong: recently two men were horribly mutilated and died when the same type of fish viciously attacked and bit off their testicles...

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Fish with teeth reported by alarmed fishermen

KSDK NewsChannel 5 immediately investigated when a viewer notified them that piranhas were discovered in Lake Lou Yaeger. The lake is near the small Illinois town of Litchfield.

Talia Kaplan, the reporter covering the story, consulted the superintendent of the lake, Jim Cadwell, who said the fish does have teeth, but isn't a piranha.

Piranha can strip a horse to the bone in mere minutes

Although a relative of the piranha, the fish in the lake is actually a pacu, a species indigenous to the Amazon River and introduced to the waterways of Papua New Guinea about 15 years ago.

Kaplan reported that a biologist told her that the pacu is "not dangerous because the fish mostly eat nuts, snails, and vegetation."