Last week the fisher caught two unusual pikes in the Irtysh – each with a horn-like growth on its head.
Some media suggested that the reason for the appearance of unusual fish could be an abandoned ore mining and processing enterprise from a zircon-ilmenite deposit located just a few kilometers from the city of Tara and Irtysh.
Tarsky district of Omsk region on the world map
However, the scientists-ichthyologists disproved this version. In particular, Arkady Balushkin, head of the Ichthyology Laboratory of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that the possible radiation could not thus affect the fish, and noted that for an accurate answer it is necessary to study in detail the pike heads stored by the Tara fisherman.
Its owner does not name the pike-mutant, for fear of a fine from the inspectors of the fish protection.
“I caught this pike on the net, and I do not have the slightest desire to pay a fine,” the fisherman admits.
