Lake 'dinosaurs' returning to Tennessee River

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Dinosaurs are back in the Tennessee River! Well, kind of.

Scientists and students with the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute released about 90 Lake Sturgeon into the Tennessee River on April 10.

According to a press release from the Tennessee Aquarium, onlookers and researchers alike gathered at the Coolidge Park boat ramp in Chattanooga on Wednesday afternoon to watch as the nine-month old fish were released.

The release said the fish represent the latest chapter in a now-21-year effort by the Aquarium and its conservation partners to restore the Lake Sturgeon to its historic range.

“The hard work of the Aquarium and its partners, plus so many others who have joined over the past twenty years, have really changed things for Lake Sturgeon,”

says Dr. Anna George, the Aquarium’s vice president of conservation science and education.

“This group effort has shown that, together, we can make steps towards our goal of having healthy rivers that are full of life.”

The fish could live more than a century, the release said.

For more information about the Aquarium's work with the sturgeon, go here.