THOSE LURKING, HORRIFIC SNAKEHEADS

(08/01/2006)
The "horrific" snakeheads are pulling a few surprises, after their initial invasion of West Virginia.

John Odenkirk, a biologist with Virginia's Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, says he is tracking the movements of 20 snakeheads tagged with radio transmitters.

Most of the time they've stayed in the shallow, stagnant water of Dogue Creek, a Potomac tributary that has been the center of the snakehead invasion.

But some have flown the coop.

Despite the species' dislike for moving water, they've settled across the Potomac in Piscataway Creek, Maryland.

The snakehead has created a stir wherever it turns up.

It prompted a near panic in 2002 when thousands of the fish were found in a Crofton, Maryland, pond. Those snakeheads were poisoned.

West Virginia wildlife officials have also been on the lookout for the fish in tributaries of the Potomac, which runs along the state's Eastern Panhandle.

To check out the creature and its invasive habits see:

Zip Up Your Sleeping Bag

Here Come The Snakeheads!