I don't know how they got there, but Texas is about to get real popular with Louisiana residents during crawfish season. A few days ago, news broke about how some Australian Redclaw Crawfish were discovered hanging out in a pond near an apartment in South Texas.

Texas Parks and Wildlife say others were discovered at the beginning of the year in the same area. A female was also discovered back in 2013. The only other sighting of this creature has been in California to date. They are considering it invasive because it can totally change the structure of the ecosystem in the areas where these species are growing. With this recent collection, the TPWD has officially collected a male and a female which means reproduction is highly likely for these visitors from down under.

On average, a typical crawfish we consume lays 500 eggs. That seems to be the average between the two main varieties that we eat, white river and red swamp crawfish. These Australians are fertile! Each female, on average, can breed 5 times a year with 1,000 eggs per clutch! That's not all. These things get huge FAST! Within a year, they can get up to 2 pounds! That means good eating, but bad news for the other species of crawfish in the area. These larger boys and girls will eat more, eat faster, and begin to choke out the normal crawfish we all know and love. They can also carry diseases that can impact the crawfish in the area making them un-farmable or kill them off.

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