Electric eels stun small animals with powerful shocks before eating them 4
Electric Eels Have Shocking Abilities The Amazon River is full of deadly animals One of them is the electric eel Electric eels are actually a type of knifefish These fish are long flat and shaped like a blade All creatures generate electricity Electric eels have special organs to create more than the normal amount They are called the Sachs's organ and the Hunter's organ They make up roughly 80 percent of the eel's long body Electric eels can make both weak and strong electric charges Weaker pulses are used to communicate The eels can't see well They also live in murky water The pulses help them find their way They are also used to find prey Once they have spotted a meal they send out two strong back-to-back pulses These charges cause the prey to twitch making them easier to find Once 5 1
spotted the eels send out stronger charges This paralyzes the prey The eels then gobble the helpless animals up These stronger electrical charges aren't just used to attack They are also used to defend If a predator comes near the eels stun them Then the eel has enough time to swim away 600 About the number of volts of electricity an electric eel can create Most US plugins can only handle 120 volts Electric eels often reach 6 to 8 feet 1.8 to 2.4 meters long They can weigh up to 44 pounds 20 kilograms They live throughout South America in lakes streams and rivers
Electric eels live in slow muddy rivers in South America HUMAN RISK Electric eels can deliver powerful electric shocks While it's possible for them to kill a person it's extremely rare A single shock usually isn't fatal on its own However repeated shocks could disrupt heart rhythms and lead to a heart attack More commonly the danger comes from being shocked in water The stunned person could drown 7
