Picture this. It’s the year 1800. You’re in the sultry heat of the Venezuelan Amazon, observing a group of local fisherman on horseback about to capture a group of electric eels from a muddy, dried up pool. The fishermen drive their horses into the water, when it suddenly erupts with chaotic thrashing and splashing. The horses are in panic, desperately trying to escape the water, one goes down, then another. Then you see long, thick, snake-like fish, slithering their way up the horses’ legs and bodies, pressing their wet flesh against their steaming flanks….Um..this is starting to sound like something it isn’t….Ahem. Anyway. This is (more-or-less) the account of 19th century German naturalist (not to be confused with “naturist”, despite what you just read), Alexander Von Humboldt, who traveled to South America in the hopes of studying the infamous electric eel. While he had doubtless heard tales of their capabilities, watching them take down a small herd of horses definitely shocked him (sorry, had to do it).
What Are Electric Eels?
“Eels which are electric, obviously. What a stupid question!”, I hear you say. WRONG!!! As so often happens in the THRILLING world of zoological nomenclature, those tricky scientists have given an animal a misleading name, just to confuse the rest of us. Despite what their name suggests, electric eels are not actually eels at all. Mercifully, they are electric (that would have been seriously disappointing). Electric eels are actually a type of knifefish (a deceptively exciting name), more closely related to catfish (ffs, scientists) than eels.
The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) is eel-shaped, with a long, scaleless body, usually dark brown or grey in colour, with a yellow or orange underside. Like true eels, the fins of electric eels are proportionally small, apart from the anal fin, which is elongated and used for propulsion. These freshwater fish are found throughout South America, can grow up to 2.5m (8.2ft) in length and weigh over 20kg (44lb). Electric eels are also obligate air-breathers, which allows them to survive in waters with very low oxygen levels, but also means they need to surface to breathe periodically.
Electric eels are capable of generating up to 800 volts of electricity, easily enough to kill an adult human. The electricity-producing organs (called the Hunter’s organ, Sach’s organ, and, not-so-ambiguously, the main electrical organ) make up around 80% of the fish’s body, with the remainder of its organs squashed up near its head. Electric eels use electricity for self-defense, hunting, communication, and electrolocation (i.e. using electric fields to perceive their environment).
What Do Electric Eels Eat?
Electric eels eat more-or-less whatever they can fit in their mouths. They hunt anything from other fish and crustaceans, to small amphibians, reptiles and mammals. Juveniles will also eat insects and other small invertebrates. Electricity is paramount to electric eels’ hunting strategy. They use low-level electric pulses to locate their prey in murky water, then deliver a double pulse of electricity, known as a “doublet”, which causes the prey’s muscles to twitch, thereby allowing the fish pinpoint its location. The “eels” then deliver a series of high voltage shocks to paralyze the prey, before swallowing it whole.
Attacks on Humans
The word “attack” is not entirely fair on electric eels. Electric eels do not actively attack humans, largely because we’re too big for them to eat. We are, however, large enough to pose a threat to the creatures themselves, which is why the majority of injuries or deaths happen. Electric eels use their electricity as a defense mechanism. This is a powerful tool in an environment in which crocodiles and jaguars may be out to get you, particularly in the dry season, when water-dwellers are particularly exposed. Indeed, a fisherman in Peru famously captured footage of an electric eel he had caught shocking and killing a caiman which had tried to eat it. Additionally, electric eels have been known to launch themselves out of the water at a predator and press themselves directly against it, in order to increase the strength of the shocks delivered (nightmare fuel).
Electric eels have very poor vision (not that excellent vision would be of much use in the seriously murky waters in which they live), and are exclusively relying their electrolocation to detect potential prey, and predators. Therefore, any human swimming near them may appear as a threat, and elicit a defensive response. While such instance are rare, they do happen, and the results can be devastating. The defensive shock generated by an electric eel can be more than enough to paralyze or even kill a human. Even if the person survives the shock, they may easily be incapacitated and drown, which accounts for most deaths by electric eel. Survivors of electric eel shocks are often left with long-term injuries, including nerve damage and muscle weakness.
Actual statistics on electric eel-related deaths or injuries don’t really exist, as many occur in remote ares and are not reported, though attacks are mostly considered rare.
How Dangerous Are Electric Eels?
Potentially, very. In reality, not very. While these fish are certainly capable of inflicting massive, long-term damage, or even death, on humans, this is not something they want to do. Electric eels are naturally fairly shy, and would rather avoid contact with humans if they can. Additionally, generating powerful, defensive shocks is pretty exhausting to the fish, and therefore something to be avoided if possible.
