Try Not to Worry Too Much About the Piranha in the Lake

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries doesn’t want you to freak out or anything, but somebody found a piranha in a lake. Definitely “use caution,” the LDWF said in a press release. It’s definitely illegal to sell them or have one as a pet anywhere in Louisiana, too. It’s just that piranhas are horror movie staples for the excellent reason that they have razor sharp teeth and can deliver a bite that has, in the words of the National Zoo website, “incredible force and shearing ability.”

The lone red piranha was found in a lake near Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and wildlife officials say it was probably a pet that someone released. Maybe the former pet owner saw the teeth? But just to be sure, the LDWF is checking carefully for any more piranhas, CNN reports. They ask that anyone who may have caught a piranha in the lake to please let them know. And also? Be cool. The press releases notes that while piranhas are scary to look at and terrifying in movies, they mainly scavenge for “dead or dying” prey—and not full-size humans.