Frankly, it’s terrifying. Were it to breed in large numbers, the consequences would be unimaginable. That’s what prompted authorities to take extreme measures to catch the beast. There are thought to even be some lurking in our very own Jiangsu Province.
坦白说，这很可怕。如果它大量繁殖，后果不堪设想。这促使当局采取极端措施来抓捕这只野兽。据认为甚至有一些潜伏在我们自己的江苏省。
When news emerged that the discovery of an alligator eel in Henan Province had caused the local government to empty an entire lake in order to eradicate the beast, it was picked up by media worldwide.
当河南省发现鳄鱼鳗导致当地政府清空整个湖以消灭这种野兽的消息传出时，世界各地的媒体都报道了这一消息。
After it was first noticed by a local resident in mid July, local authorities began their capture operation of the 60-centimetre-long aquatic killer. It was to take a month of trying before they decided the last option was to drain the artificial Yunchan Lake.
7月中旬，当地居民首次发现它后，当地政府开始了对这条60厘米长的水生杀手的抓捕行动。经过一个月的尝试，他们最终决定，将人工云禅湖的水排干。
So why the Jaws-like reaction? The alligator eel, also called an alligator gar in its native north America, has a long cylindrical body covered with fish scales that are thick and hard. Its upper and lower jaw are densely covered with two rows of dagger like teeth.
那么为什么会有类似大白鲨的反应呢？鳄鳗在北美原产地也被称为鳄鳝，身体呈长圆柱形，上面覆盖着又厚又硬的鱼鳞。它的上下颌上密布着两排匕首般的牙齿。
Zhuang Ping is former Director of the East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences. Speaking with The Paper, Zhuang explained that the alligator eel was initially introduced as a pet. However, being at the top of the freshwater food chain, if introduced it can bring disaster to an ecosystem.
庄平，原中国水产科学院东海水产研究所所长。庄在接受澎湃新闻采访时解释说，鳄鳗最初是作为宠物引入的。然而，作为淡水食物链的顶端，如果引入它可能会给生态系统带来灾难。
Zhuang said, “It is a very ferocious fish, and its destructive power in the water cannot be underestimated. It will prey on other aquatic animals in large numbers and cause harm to local species”.
庄先生说，“它是一种非常凶猛的鱼，在水中的破坏力不可小觑，它会大量捕食其他水生动物，对当地物种造成危害”。
When Yunchan Lake was finally empty, some 37 million people watched online as the eel was tracked down.
当云禅湖最终空无一人时，约有 3700 万人在网上观看了鳗鱼被追踪的过程。
Bizarrely, on that day, 26 August, there were three alligator eels caught in lakes across the country. In addition to that in Henan, others were caught in a lake in a residential community in Kunming City of Yunnan Province, and another in Changsha City of Hunan Province.
奇怪的是，8月26日那天，全国各地的湖泊中捕获了三只鳄鳗。除河南省外，还有云南省昆明市一小区湖中、湖南省长沙市一处小区湖中被困的案例。
And the following day, two more in Qingdao City of Shandong Province, again after authorities had a lake drained.
第二天，在当局将一个湖泊排干后，山东省青岛市又发生了两起事件。
While alligator eels can grow up to 1.5 metres in length and are undoubtedly scary to look at, there is no reason to believe they would be hostile to humans in their environment. In some parts of the US, game and fishery departments have put up notices to quell any fears; there have been no known attacks on humans.
虽然鳄鳗可以长到 1.5 米长，看起来无疑很吓人，但没有理由相信它们会对环境中的人类产生敌意。在美国的一些地区，狩猎和渔业部门已经张贴了通知，以平息任何担忧。目前还没有发生针对人类的已知袭击事件。
It should also be noted that alligator eels are not suitable for consumption; their eggs are highly toxic.
还需要注意的是，鳄鱼鳗不适合食用；它们的卵有剧毒。
Where do they come from in the wild? The general consensus is that after they grow too big as pets, people discard them into the nearest body of freshwater. If one was to there find a mate, it would be goodbye to the local aquatic environment. In China’s waters, there are very few fish more ferocious.
它们在野外从哪里来？人们普遍认为，当它们作为宠物长大后，人们就会将它们丢弃到最近的淡水湖中。如果去那里寻找配偶，就必须告别当地的水生环境。在中国海域，很少有比这更凶猛的鱼了。
