Asian swamp eels are on display for sale at a market in the Chinatown neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. New York state and city wildlife officials say it's too soon to know the local impact of exotic eels dumped into a Brooklyn lake in September 2020. The nonnative eel species has been illegally released into freshwater bodies in at least eight U.S. states, including New York. 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 Brooklyn 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.” read more https://apnews.com/article/nyc-eels-park-big-pile-new-york-9454b2d01a7eb4ff41d386dce358e9a5