Zebra mussels have started to invade North Dakota's Red River as it was reported that the freshwater animals have been sighted for the first time at different locations just North of Wahpeton.

An official with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department said that a serious amount of the zebra mussel larvae (also called veligers ) were obtained in June surveys of the river as far as the southeast to northeast parts of North Dakota, according to CBC News.

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The invasive mussels were found in the Red River at six cities: Abercrombie, Dayton, Fargo, Grand Forks Pembina and Wahpeton.

Until the recent discovery, veligers were never found in the north of city despite the fact that the creatures were found in the Wahpeton area in 2010, 2011 and 2014.

Surveys conducted by the Game & Fish Department on June 23 and 24 revealed surprising results - zebra mussels have surfaced in quite large numbers and are living downstream from Wahpeton, Dispatch Times has learned.

"Although these results are not totally surprising considering the recent findings of large numbers of zebra mussel veligers in the Red River at the Canadian border, and in past years near Wahpeton in the Otter Tail River in Minnesota, the results are certainly surprising in that so many veligers were detected at each of the six sampled sites," Fred Ryckman, North Dakota Game and Fish Department aquatic nuisance species coordinator, said in a statement.

"And it's even more incredible considering that in similar sampling over the past several years we've only detected about a half dozen veligers in total," he added.

When zebra mussel larvae are released by the adults, the former attach to docks, boats, rocks, bridges & pipes. The accumulation of the mussels then causes several damages like clogging water systems & destroying underwater infrastructures.

Furthermore, these water creatures are also known to compete with some game fish for food, which can alter the food-chain dynamics in the freshwater ecosystems.

Authorities have warned anglers, boaters and others against the transport of water away from the Red River because once the invasive species get into waterways, it is almost impossible to get rid of them.

 "There really isn't anything we can do to remove the veligers or any adult zebra mussels from the river," Ryckman stated, as per NY City News. "But we can be on alert and do everything we can to prevent them from being moved to other bodies of water."

TagsZebra mussels, North Dakota, Red River