Electric eels are fish that generate electric shocks. Shocks stun prey. Shocks can also hit people if touched. Inhaling an eel can kill humans.
Shocks last about two-thousandths of a second. The pain is brief, then numbness. For scientists studying the animal, pain comes with work.
Human deaths from eels are rare. But multiple shocks can cause heart or breathing failure. People have drowned in shallow water after being shocked.
Don’t grab an eel barehanded. That risks shock.
Eels evolved electrical powers to survive, not just shock. About 80% of an eel’s body is electric organs, used for communication, navigation and hunting.
There are now three eel species, after two new ones were found. One releases 860 volt shocks, the highest animal voltage discovered.
If you touched an eel with your eyes, you could be killed. 600 volts is enough to stop a human heart.
Smaller eels would sting and cause muscle spasms if they shocked you. An eel’s deadliness may depend on its size. Eels can grow 8 feet long and 44 pounds heavy. They surface often to breathe air. Eels constantly emit a 10 volt charge. This acts as a radar in muddy water. It also helps find prey.
Eels control prey without touching it using shock waves. These manipulate the prey’s muscles.
Eel shocks last two-thousandths of a second. Special cells called “electrocytes” generate the charge. When threatening prey, eels open some channels and close others to shock.
Human deaths from electric eels are extremely rare. However, multiple shocks can cause respiratory or heart failure. And people have drowned in shallow water after being stunned.
Electric eels aren’t actually eels, but knifefish related to carp and catfish. They live in South American freshwaters. Their ability to shock has fascinated people.
When eels attack prey, they rise from the water. They press their jaws against an arm or chest. Then they release an intense, high-voltage burst. This could immobilize a person to the point of drowning.
Eel shocks feel brief, then cause numbness. Shock effects may depend on eel size. Small ones would sting. Large ones could stop a human heart. Eels surface often, emitting gentle radar. This helps them navigate and find prey in muddy waters. Special cells line their bodies, generating electricity when needed. With shocks reaching 600 volts, eels are nature’s most electrifying hunters.
What happens if you get stung by an electric eel?
The average shock lasts about two-thousandths of a second. The pain isn’t searing but isn’t pleasant: a brief muscle contraction, then numbness.
When the eel senses prey or feels threatened, electrocytes create an electrical current that can release up to 600 volts. It won’t kill you but it will hurt. They use their electric charge like radar. After delivering a shock to prey, the eels follow the electric field, zeroing in without using sight or touch.
Predators of electric eels include humans. The pain comes with studying the animal. Multiple shocks can lead to respiratory or heart failure. People have drowned in shallow water after a shock.
It’s rare for humans to die from eels. But multiple shocks can stop breathing or the heart. An adult eel can produce 600 lethal volts. When attacking, eels rise and press their jaws against an arm or leg. They generate an intense electricity burst. Although the amperage is low, a burst could drown a person.
They don’t have teeth so swallow meals whole, including fish and mammals for adults and invertebrates for young. The average shock lasts about two-thousandths of a second. The pain isn’t pleasant: a brief contraction then numbness.
Electric eels mostly prey on fish and mammals. They only attack humans if disturbed. They use electrical currents for attacks and defense against larger animals. Up to 0.5 kilowatts is released per shock enough to injure a human. A single jolt could incapacitate and drown, even in shallow water. Multiple shocks could stop breathing or the heart.
Whether a shock is fatal depends on the eel’s size. Electric eels can grow 8 feet long and 44 pounds. Although eels live in water, they surface to breathe air. They emit a 10 volt charge to find prey and navigate muddy waters.
Are electric eels aggressive?
Eels are not aggressive animals. However, like any wild animal, eels can be dangerous if they feel threatened or cornered. Eels have sharp teeth and a strong bite. Some species of eels can produce an electric shock, which can be strong enough to stun their prey or deter predators.
Electric eels can release up to 850 volts. The average lifespan of electric eels in the wild is still unknown. In human care, males typically live 10 to 15 years. Electric eels are too dangerous for other species to go after.
Electrical discharges help the electric eel find food. When on the hunt for food, an electric pulse will force prey out from hiding places allowing them time to capture it more quickly. Electric eels have no known predators.
Eels are not aggressive towards humans. However, they can become defensive if they feel threatened. The Electric Eel Electrophorus electricus is one of several species of fish that possess organs that can produce electricity. The Electric Eel is really quite an enigma. It has the characteristics of a number of different types of fish.
Their oral cavity (mouth area) has a vascularized respiratory organ and they are obligate air breathers. When the electric eel senses prey or feels threatened by a predator, electrocytes create an electrical current that can release up to 600 volts.
Electric eels generate their electric shocks much like a battery. Like the stacked plates of a battery, the stacked electric cells can generate an electrical shock of 500 volts and 1 ampere. Such a shock would be deadly for an adult human! Electric eels have up to 6,000 electrocytes, which are modified, elongated, stacked muscle cells. The electric eel is able to produce electric shocks up to 600 volts and therefore is the most “electrical” fish in the world. This can be dangerous not only for its prey but also for human beings.
Is it legal to have an electric eel?
It is legal in many areas to keep an electric eel as a pet. Still, care should be left to aquariums, zoos, and expert aquarists. They are hardy fish. But, if you’re up to the task, there’s no doubt that you’ll have the most interesting pet in your neighborhood.
Named after Alessandro Volta, the Italian physicist who invented the battery, it can generate an electric shock as high as 860 volts, the strongest of any known animal. The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus, other species proposed) is a South American electric fish. Despite the name, it is not an eel, but rather a knifefish. Indigenous people in Venezuela called it arimna, or “something that deprives you of motion.”
600 volts Electrophorus electricus – everything about this fish’s scientific name says high voltage! Inside the organ are many muscle-like cells, called electrocytes. Electrocytes create an electrical current that can release up to 600 volts. Although there are few documented instances of people dying from an electric eel’s shock, it could happen. A single jolt could incapacitate a person long enough to cause him or her to drown, even in shallow water.
Electric eels are tropical fish used to warmer water, so keep the aquarium between 73-82°F (23-28°C). The pH should be between 5.5-7.0. Electric eels can grow to enormous sizes. So, you’ll need a tank that is at least 540 gal for a single fish.
When the electric eel senses prey or feels threatened by a predator, it frequently shocks itself. The average shock lasts about two-thousandths of a second. Up to 600 volts later, the caiman went to that big swamp in the sky. The eel succumbed to its injuries a short time afterward.
Electric eels dwell on the bottom of these aquatic environments, but they have to come to the surface to breathe, unlike other fish that use gills and must stay submerged. Although electric eels breaths oxygen like humans, they don’t have lungs. However, catching an electric eel is not an easy task. Yes, an electric eel named Miguel Wattson kept in Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga has its own twitter account.
One of the most significant advantages of having an electric eel as a pet is its uniqueness. They are fascinating creatures that can produce powerful electric shocks, which makes them stand out from other pets. It’s a common question asked by those who encounter electric eels in the wild: can you eat an electric eel? The answer, it turns out, is a resounding yes! Electric eels are not only edible, but they’re actually quite delicious.
Electric eels can release between 10 to 850 volts, with one big jolt able to light up to a 40-watt DC light bulb. A team of researchers claim to have developed a way to charge electronic devices such as smartphones using the human body.