Aidan Harradence

May 17, 2024 | canadiangeographic.ca | Thomas Lundy |Aidan Harradence

There’s something strange maneuvering its way into our ponds, rivers and lakes. It’s a mutant. It’s a strong, independent, all-female species — with an extra set of chromosomes — that literally don’t need no man. It has murky origins in post-cold war Germany’s aquarium trade. It’s already been unleashed on central Europe, Madagascar and Japan to devastating effect. It’s self-cloning, spawning hundreds of identical progeny at a time.