‘Big pile’ of eels dumped in Prospect Park Lake could threaten local ecosystem
Andrew Orkin was taking a break from his evening jog to sit by Prospect Park Lake when he turned around and was startled to see a tangle of wriggling snakes.
“And quite a big pile — fully alive,” said Orkin, a music composer who lives near the park.
They turned out to be eels that had escaped from one of two large plastic bags that split open as a man dragged them to the shoreline. After dumping the eels in the lake, the man walked away, explaining to bystanders that “I just want to save lives.”
The illegal release late last month became a curiosity on social media, but the dumping of animals in urban parks isn’t new. In cities across the country, non-native birds, turtles, fish and lizards have settled into, and often disturbed, local ecosystems.