Crayfish are an invasive species in Arizona but you wouldn't expect to find one walking down a sidewalk.
MESA, Ariz. — You expect to see rattlesnakes, javelina, and mountain lions while living in the Valley. For one Mesa woman, she came across a creature no one would expect.
“I didn’t even think they lived here honestly,” Davies said.
She was out on a walk with her dog when they came upon, believe it or not, a crustacean.
“I just saw the crayfish walking on the sidewalk,” Davies said.
She found it near Mesa Drive and Broadway Road and knew she couldn't leave the little guy there.
“I thought it wasn’t going to have any chance of surviving so I picked it up and brought it home,” Davies said.
She expected to just throw it in a nearby pond but then her kids learned of the creature.
“Then he just ended up staying,” Davies said. “His name is Nathan.”
Caelan Drago named the crayfish and told 12News he is pretty friendly but does get a little feisty.
“Ow… ouch,” Drago said while showing 12News the little guy.
Crayfish, crawfish, crawdads, mudbugs… whatever you want to call them, officials with the Arizona Game and Fish Department said they are an invasive species in State 48. Officials said they were brought here a long time ago and the population grew out of control.
“Now they are in several of our reservoirs and streams and rivers,” Alexandra Flickinger with the department said. “So crayfish are present it’s just not common to find them walking down the street.”
It is possible that the crawdad found his way through a nearby irrigation system, officials said.
While we may never know exactly how Nathan ended up walking the streets of Mesa, we do know that he has found his forever home.
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