1. Electric eels are mostly found in the waters of South-America
2. They are capable of generating a 500volt electric shock through 28ft of still water.
3. Electric eels can grow up to 2.5 metres equivalent to 6ft or thereabout.
4. Despite the name electric eel, the electric eel is actually related most closely to a catfish
5. In the dry season, a male electric eel makes a nest from his saliva into which the female electric eel lays her eggs.
6. The electric eels tend to prefer the river floodplains, swamps, coastal plains, and creeks.
7. The electricity that the electric eel uses to shock its prey, is produced in pairs of organs that are found in the abdomen of the electric eel.
8. Electric eels feed on fishes and small mammals.
9. As many as 17,000 young electric eels will hatch from the eggs in one nest.
10. Human deaths from electric eels are extremely rare. However, multiple shocks can cause respiratory or heart failure, and people have been known to drown in shallow water after a stunning jolt.
Fast Facts
Type: Fish
Scientific Name: Electrophorus Electricus
Diet: Carnivore
Average life span in the wild: 15 years
Size: 6 to 8 ft (1.8 to 2.5 m)
Weight: 44 lbs (20 kg)
Group name: Swarm
Colour: Black, White, Purple and Blue
Did you know? The shock of an electric eel has been known to knock a horse off its feet.
