Pacu Fish Found In New Jersey: How Did The Testicle-Eating Piranha Cousin From The Amazon To Passaic?

Sharks are typically the most horrifying "fish" in the waters, but the significantly smaller, but equally damaging, South American Pacu fish has what it takes to give men nightmares. The Amazonian fish, which has recently been popping up in foreign waters, is believed to munch on human testicles mistaking them for tree nuts. The frightening part: two men in New Guinea are said to have died from blood loss after the vegetarian Pacu fish chomped their testicles off, earning the fish the nickname "ball-cutter," according to Metro.

The Pacu fish has just recently been found in northern New Jersey in Passaic County, just a few miles from New York. The fish was discovered by retired bus driver Tom Boylan, who stumbled upon the 10-inch-long fish at Third Ward Veteran's Memorial Park in Passaic, N.J., reports The Bergen Record. "Most likely, someone had [the 10-inch Pacu] in their fish tank and it grew too big, so they dumped it," Pat Egan, manager at Absolutely Fish, told The Bergen Record after the store identified the fish. "We call them 'tank busters.' We don't even sell them because they grow so big." Fortunately, residents of Passaic County need not worry about the fish, as it supposedly is not capable of surviving cold temperatures.

A distant cousin of the piranha, the Pacu fish looks just like a piranha and can grow up to 55 pounds and can measure up to 3 to 4 feet. When it's not accidentally munching on human testicles, the fish consumes nuts, aquatic vegetables and snails. With a strong jaw and teeth, the fish can do some serious damage. As of late, the fish has been popping up everywhere from Sweden to Paris. Danish fisherman reportedly found the fish in the strait of Oresund. "The Pacu is not normally dangerous to people but it has quite a serious bite," said Henrik Carl, a fish expert at the Natural History Museum of Denmark. "There have been incidents in other countries, such as Papua New Guinea where some men have had their testicles bitten off. They bite because they're hungry, and testicles sit nicely in their mouth. And its mouth is not so big, so of course it normally eats nuts, fruit, and small fish, but human testicles are just a natural target."