Joey Aldridge, age 7, of Hobart, Ind., for his question:

WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL IS THE ALLIGATOR GAR.?

The alligator gar is a member of the not too popular fish family called gars. These fierce fellows are greedy predators disliked by fishermen for a number of reasons. They make great pests of themselves by stealing bait from fishermen's lines and have even been known to rob fishermen of fish they have hooked. Gars themselves are not considered good to eat. And since they are such greedy eaters, they can cause great destruction to other game fish.

Gars have long, narrow bodies with armor like scales as hard as flint. Their elongated jaws form a kind of beak that is filled with large, sharp teeth. The long nose gar gets its name from his super long needlelike beak. He grows to be about five feet long. The alligator gar is the giant of the clan. It can measure 10 feet long and may tip the scales at a whopping 300 pounds.