A Thai fisherman was stunned after catching a rare alligator fish more than 9,000 miles away from its native habitat.<br /><br />Noppadon Pumcharoen, 46, hauled ashore the alligator gar - normally found in the Mississippi River - from a stream near his home in Chachoengsao, Thailand last Friday (August 30) morning.<br /><br />The fisherman was surprised by the 3ft long alien species which had a snout and sharp teeth like those of an alligator.<br /><br />He said: "I gathered the fish in the morning after the rain but caught this beast instead. I think the selfish owner might live nearby and released it because he was bored.<br /><br />"I will keep it in my pool while waiting for the authorities to take it because releasing it back to the river might be dangerous to the other fish and locals.''<br /><br />The torpedo-shaped alligator is one of the world's largest freshwater carnivore fish and its natural habitat is in the southern part of North America.<br /><br />Many are found in the Mississippi River, which is some 9,000 miles from Thailand. <br /><br />Noppadon said he will keep the fish in his garden pot because he doesn't want to release it back into the river.<br /><br />He said: ''It's quite lucky that I caught the fish. Now it won't do any more damage to the other creatures in the river.''
