The Guangzhou water authority has warned citizens against releasing wild animals into the public following the capture of two alligator gars in the city's Baiyun Lake on Feb 16 and 17.

Panic had been spreading throughout the city since Spring Festival, when a strange fish was spotted in the lake on Feb 9. It was identified by experts to be an alligator gar, a ray-finned fish capable of delivering a serious bite due to its large size and sharp teeth.

Mainly found in North America, the alligator gar is the largest species in the gar family, and among the largest freshwater fishes in the world. Fossils trace its existence back to the Early Cretaceous over a hundred million years ago.

An alligator gar is spotted in Baiyun Lake during the Spring Festival holiday. [Photo/ycwb.com]

Experts warned that the alligator gars would pose a serious threat to the lake's ecosystem due to lack of natural enemies and strong adaptability. The large alligator gar can eat dozens of pounds of freshwater fish in a single day.

On Feb 13, a professional team was dispatched to Baiyun Lake to capture the beast, dividing the 600-mu (40-hectare) area in the west part of the lake into two sections and laying a 1,600-meter fishing net on the water. Fishing boats cruised through the lake in search of the dangerous fish as water pumps were used to lower water levels.

On Feb 16, a 0.9-meter alligator gar was caught, and a 1.2-meter, 20-kilogram one was caught the following day.

A worker measures the alligator gar captured on Feb 17. [Photo/ycwb.com]

While trying to protect the environment and helping preserve animal species is a good thing, authorities said that citizens need to know everything about the animal they are releasing and the local ecology before setting it loose in a new environment. And according to a new wildlife protection law, those who made the illegal release will be held liable.

The alligator gar caught in Baiyun Lake. [Photo/ycwb.com]