Mary Ann Goodwin, age 11, of Chattanooga, Tenn., for her question:

HOW LONG DOES A GAR GROW TO BE?

A gar is a fierce and greedy fresh water fish of eastern North America. The long nose gar, or "billfish," has extremely long jaws and grows to be about 5 feet long. The short nose gar is 2 to 3 feet long. The heavy set alligator gar is the largest of all    it grows to be about 10 feet long.

Gars usually live in lakes and large rivers. They are found in streams along the Atlantic Coast from Canada to Florida and from Florida to Louisiana along the Gulf of Mexico.

Gars also live in the waters of the Mississippi Valley, in the Great Lakes and in Cuba and Nicaragua.

The name "gar" is also applied to the marine needle fishes. These fish look like the true gars but they have soft scales. The long nose gar preys on other water animals.