Residents of storm-ravaged Florida may have thought the sea was taking the state back during Hurricane Debby, and it appears some local wildlife had the same idea.
As Category 1 fishing turned streets into rivers, some were horrified to find their neighborhoods overrun by roving fish that had adapted eerily to the amphibious conditions.
Social media was abuzz with images of the slimy creatures flitting brazenly through their gardens after being fished out of their hiding places by the storm.
And residents were not reassured after wildlife experts identified the animals as “walking catfish,” a species native to Southeast Asia that has been slowly increasing in numbers in Florida since it was first spotted in the late 1960s.
‘Wow! Ouch! Who knows what else will pop up,’ wrote one. ‘Be careful out there.’
Louis Bardach found a 12-inch specimen watching him suspiciously in his driveway
The creature flew away from the Gulfport driveway when Bardach tried to sting it
The storm was still in full swing when Louis Bardach spotted a 12-inch specimen in his driveway in Gulfport, eyeing him suspiciously.
“It’s very much alive,” the homeowner noted while filming it for Instagram.
The creature came to life and began to wriggle across the asphalt as Bardach tried to poke it with his finger, causing it to flap from side to side like a giant tadpole.
“I’m not sure where it’s coming from or where it’s going,” Bardach said.
“Weird! Okay, maybe we should help it along a bit.”
Not everyone was equally understanding in a state where you can also find special wildlife.
“I hope you took it to the chip shop,” wrote one,
“Walking catfish, invasive species. Should have killed him,” added another.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, the animals can be identified by their “elongated, gray, scaleless catfish-like body with a large mouth, sharp pectoral spines, and four pairs of barbels.”
And they describe sliding over land as ‘like an infantryman sliding under barbed wire’.
Another example was scooped up from a driveway in St. Petersburg
Hundreds of these walking catfish were reported to be frolicking in yards, lawns and driveways after Hurricane Ian hit Florida in 2022
Noodling enthusiasts who want to try their hand at catfish should note that catfish don’t have fish scales, but are “covered in a slippery mucus that protects their skin when they’re out of the water,” according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.
They are most common in the Everglades and the waterways that connect to it. They “can live and even thrive in water with little to no oxygen.”
Part of the population lives in drainage systems and these probably ended up in residential areas during the nuisance caused by Debby.
Despite their fearsome appearance, they are “good parents,” the museum says. It is “the males that build nests in the underwater vegetation and protect the eggs and then the young.”
‘This extra protection against the males at an early stage makes walking catfish more successful as an invasive species.’
Initial fears about the impact on native species have proven exaggerated, but the Commission says they are ‘still considered undesirable’.
“They can only be possessed when dead, so fishermen who wish to eat them should immediately put them on ice,” the document adds.
A St. Petersburg man found two more in his driveway and fourteen fished in a backyard on Merritt Island after Hurricane Ian two years ago.
Some had sympathy for the plight of the fish out of the water, having come across them by chance during the last flood.
“I saw this while I was out running the other day,” someone wrote. “I had to put the poor thing in a bucket and take it back to a pond or spring.”
“They can survive for about a day as long as they stay wet, but in this weather that’s no problem,” wrote another.
‘He can also smell/taste the scent of the nearest pond or river and will eventually go there himself. If you see one, it is best to leave him alone.’
Others, however, were clearly unimpressed by the crawling, creeping creature.
“Oh dear. People don’t respond very kindly to most people,” snapped one.
“It’s a dumb fish that feeds on mud, and it also tastes like earth.”
