Teddy bear slaughters 2,500 trout

They look cute, but they can kill

By Lester Haines • Get more from this author

Posted in Biology, 26th September 2006 15:22 GMT

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A teddy bear dropped into a pool in a New Hampshire fish farm managed to kill 2,500 trout, The Mercury News reports.

The killer cuddly toy, "dressed in a yellow raincoat and hat", blocked a drain at the Fish and Game Department's hatchery in Milford and suffocated the pond's piscine residents.

Supervisor Robert Fawcett told the paper: "We've had pipes get clogged, but it's usually with more naturally occurring things, like a dead frog or a muskrat.

"This one turned out to be a teddy bear and we don't know how it got there. It's kind of a cute little teddy bear and people wouldn't think that a cute little teddy bear would be able to kill fish."

To combat the teddy bear menace, the fish farm has put up a no-nonsense sign reading: "Release of any teddy bears into the fish hatchery water is not permitted." Those who accidently drop teddy bears into a pool were urged by Fawcett "to find a fish farmer and ask them to remove it". He added: "They might save your teddy bear and keep it from becoming a killer." ®

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