Toothed Eels Rain On Alaskan City

By R. Siva Kumar - 13 Jun '15 14:55PM

Eels as long as a foot each have dropped from the sky on an Alaskan town, according to yahoo. They are the toothed Arctic lamprey fish, which are too tough to catch and are not used commercially. But they have been discovered in a shopping centre and car park as well as the lawns of people in Fairbanks.

Are these "vampire fish" or are they "fish monsters" streaming down, ask puzzled residents. Most of them look scary, like something from horror movies, according to news.

The Alaska-News Miner said: "Adult Arctic lampreys have fallen from the sky four times this week in Fairbanks, including at the Value Village parking lot, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. That's unusual for a fish that's seldom seen in the water up here."

While historically, small animals such as worms, fish, or frogs have been known to fall from the sky, toothed eels seem to be a first. There are waterspouts or tornadoes that pass a lake or river and can lift some debris, including light aquatic animals, and carry them for miles before they begin to go on the stream. However, there have never been any tornadoes or waterspouts in this Fairbanks area.

An interesting explanation has been arrived at by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game---that they are dropped from the air by seagulls. These birds eat lampreys and minor fish, but don't always eat them then and there.

At times, they just pick up their prey and fly over the city, and then tend to drop them by mistake at a distance from the rivers, which accounts for why they suddenly drop from the sky.