Shocking Behaviour

Not content with being one of the most remarkable (and some would say scariest) creatures in the murky waters of the Amazon River, it seems that the electric eel is intent on being equally astonishing outside the water as well.

Famous for their ability to emit powerful electric pulses thanks to special organs that extend over most of their length, electric eels have gained a reputation as one of the most fascinating freshwater predators on Earth. But while it’s long been known that the eels use their abilities to stun their aquatic prey into submission, scientists have recently filmed them leaping out of the water and delivering massive shocks to would-be predators on dry land as well.

When presented with a mock predator in a laboratory aquarium, such as a dummy caiman, the eels were seen to leap up and actively attack the “threat” before it had even entered the water. The eels would lunge up to deliver high-voltage blasts, taking care to keep their chins in constant contact with the target. Even more surprisingly, both the voltage and the current the mock predator received actually increased as the eels slithered higher up.

This is the first time that the eels have been caught using what is a powerful new trick – delivering their shocks directly to a threat rather than distributing it through the water. It’s thought that the behaviour is an evolved adaption to life in the Amazon, where water retreats during the dry season and leaves the eels trapped in small bodies of water and exposed to predators. Regardless of the reasons behind it though, it’s a beautiful example of how the eel exploits the basic physics of electricity to display some truly shocking behaviour.