Even crocodiles are afraid of this creature... It’s a real underwater monster!

[Music] hello friends the rainforests of south america amaze us with their variety of animal species but they don't just have rich animal life on the ground but also in the tree crowns and the underwater depths which both harmless creatures and real monsters have made their home so who are these creatures known for their aggression and veracity and are they dangerous to humans today our story will feature a creature that is incredibly strong and capable of confronting even the most skilled hunters this is one of the most amazing creatures on our planet the electric eel despite its name in appearance the electric eel is in fact not an actual eel it belongs to the class of ray-finned fish from the order of gymnaliforms the size of the fish is impressive adults grow to about 2.5 meters in length and 20 kilograms in weight the elongated cylindrical body has no scales and it's dark gray brown on the back and yellow or orange on the belly [Music] the long fin plays a key role in movement allowing the fish to move at a speed of up to eight kilometers per hour these fish inhabit the rivers of northeastern south america [Music] and the tributaries of the middle and lower reaches of the amazon eels prefer swamps as well as creeks and lakes the fact is that eels have poor eyesight which is why they feel safer in dirty and muddy water like all electric fish electric eels are able to use weak electrical signals for navigation and social communication with other electric eels in dark or muddy waters these fish use a weak voltage of 10 volts for orientation and the electric field extends over a radius of 5 meters some of their electric receptors are tuned to detect non-electric fish while others specialize in detecting signals from other electric fish the ability to detect electric signals allows eels to sense the heartbeat of other fish [Music] surprisingly these fish obtain most of their oxygen from the air so every 10 to 15 minutes they have to rise to the surface if they can't do this they will die the electric eel's ability to use atmospheric oxygen for breathing allows it to be out of the water for several hours but only if the body and mouth remain moist this trait provides for the eel's increased survival rate but of course the main trait of this creature is its incredible ability to generate electric current the most interesting thing about the structure of electric eels is its electrical organs which occupy over two-thirds of their body length [Music] the positive pole of this battery lies in the front of the eel's body while its negative pole is in the back the highest discharge voltage according to observations in aquariums can reach up to 650 volts [Music] but it's usually less and in fish that are less than one meter long it doesn't exceed 350 volts this would be enough to light five electric bulbs the main electrical organs are used by eels to defend themselves against enemies and to paralyze prey eels have an additional electrical organ but the field it generates search for locating purposes they receive information about obstacles on their way or potential prey from the interference that arises within this field eels use a voltage of 300 to 600 volts for hunting [Music] a short string of 4 to 8 short pulses lasting only two or three milliseconds is used to attack the prey approaching the target eels generate an electric discharge and the pursued fish as well as all other living creatures that happen to be around get stunned so all that's left to do for the eel is to choose the best prey the electric eel applies a suction feeding bite to swallow fish crabs and other small animals one after another making a loud sniffing noise that can be heard from afar [Music] electric eels don't just use their main weapon for attacks but also for defense [Music] the black caiman is the largest predator of the amazon basin with strong armor and a huge mouth full of sharp teeth which gives it a wide range of potential prey but this time the predator made a mistake and instead of a hearty dinner it was in for an unpleasant surprise hundreds of electric pulses completely paralyzed the predator but the eel needs time to recharge the cayman takes advantage of the moment and runs away from the unpleasant opponent if the predator were to decide to stick around the consequences would be much worse at the same time the eel itself is completely unaffected by the electric current as its electrical cells are reliably insulated from other parts of the body and its skin acts as a dielectric the spanish conquistadors were the first ones to bring information about the electric eel to the europeans the first detailed description was made in 1729 naturalists didn't believe that these fish could discharge electric pulses at first they assumed that they paralyzed their prey in some other mysterious way however in june 1772 a fellow of the royal society named john walsh proved that eels use electricity to stun their victims these unique fish even reproduce in an unusual way the female and the male search for each other by sending impulses in the water males send powerful and frequent signals while female sends short and long signals the female lays about 1 200 to 1 700 eggs in a well-camouflaged nest which the male makes from its saliva so is the electric eel dangerous to humans this fish can actually be deadly the eel is aggressive it can attack without warning even if there is no threat if something alive gets into the electric field the eel won't hide or swim away if a person sees an electric eel on their way it's much better for them just to swim to the side people should stay at a distance of at least three meters from the fish since this is the common radius of the eel's electric field a series of shocks can cause cardiac arrest and paralysis can lead to drowning even in shallow waters although such cases are rare for obvious reasons the electric eel didn't become popular among local fishermen so this fish has virtually no natural enemies although sometimes the eo can still fall prey to a large crocodile but it doesn't have much of an effect on the population size the lifespan of the electric eels can exceed 10 or even 15 years it should be added that the ability to generate electric current isn't an exclusive trait of electric eels about 250 other species have this skill but their electrical organs serve primarily for orientation purposes as well as a hunting and protection tool however there are only two representatives of the fauna electric eels and stingrays they can produce a charge of such voltage that it can paralyze or even kill a person [Music] an interesting fact researchers at yale university and the national institute of standards and technology argue that artificial cells can be created that not only mimic the electrical behavior of electric eel cells but also improve it artificial versions of eel cells that can produce electricity can be developed as an energy source for medical implants and other microscopic devices and that's all for today friends share your opinion on this episode in the comments like the video thanks for watching and we'll see you next time

Channel: Wonders of the World

Views: 469,222

Rating: 4.8615785 out of 5

Keywords: Wonders of the World, animals, about animals, interesting facts, predators, predatory animals, videos about animals, rare animals, eel, electric eel, eel against, fish eel, underwater monster, electric ray, eel attacks

Id: UxnE6VWt2XE

Length: 9min 1sec (541 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 27 2021