Killer Catfish

Aaargh, down in the depths of Lake Schlachtensee lurks a creature more mysterious than Nessie, more ill-tempered than Jaws, and more terrifying than the Monty Python's killer rabbit.

It's a monster catfish. And it's hungry.

The existence of the two-meter-long aquatic predator was discovered, when it began taking bites out of bathers.

"I was swimming at night and suddenly I was bitten in my right leg," high school student Jonas Wegg told the Bild newspaper. "It was something big and slimy."

Others escaped with just a scare.

"Some big, fat, disgusting fish touched me, and I panicked," high school student Philine Fabel said.

And others still aren't taking any chances.

"I'm not going in the water anymore," said veterinary assistant Tatjana Trappe. "I don't know what might be swimming around underneath me."

High-strung omnivores

More than 100 species of catfish live in fresh waters around the world. They range in size from 1 centimeter to 2.5 meters (0.4 inches to 8.2 feet), with the heaviest of the lot weighing in at 100 kilos (220 pounds).

Catfish east almost anything, including algae, mucus, blood, insects, wood and meat.

But experts say something other than a desire for food might be driving the attacks on Berliners.

"Catfish have been known to bite, but only in self-defense -- because they're under stress or have been disturbed," Deputy Director of the Berlin Fishing Office Susanne Jürgensen told Bild.

So if you encounter a killer catfish, try to get it to chill.

Initial rumors that Berlin had called in a team of Cajun chefs to capture the animal, cover it in cayenne pepper and sear it in a cast-iron skillet later proved to be entirely fictitious.