In a study conducted by Vanderbilt University's biologist Kenneth Catania, findings showed that an electric eel does not only use its electric ability to locate preys in muddy waters but also curl its body to amplify its electric charge to stun. This makes electric eels the first natural Tasers long before technology arrived.
Electric eels are not the most beautiful underwater creatures around but nature compromised by packing their serpentine-like bodies with specialized cells which act like tiny batteries. These sea creatures are capable of zapping their prey with a 600-volt shock, which is quintuple the power of a standard wall socket in the United States. When catching small-sized fish, an electric eel would zap its prey with Taser-like currents which cause temporary paralysis. The electric eel would then catch the stunned prey using its mouth.
But when tackling bigger preys, the electric eel makes use of a curling maneuver that intensifies its electric charge. After an initial bite, the electric eel would curl itself around the prey making its head and tail meet. This 'curling maneuver' intensifies the amount of electric charge emitted by bringing the two opposite poles together.
"The prey animals are completely paralyzed. The effect is comparable to administering a dose of a paralytic agent like curare," said Catania.
Catania's experiments found that the electric eel doubles the amount of electric pulses delivered to its prey through the curling maneuver. The increased voltage drives the prey's muscles to contract in a vigorous and fast manner which then results in muscle fatigue. This gives the sleek electric eel the window it needs to scoop and swallow the immobilized prey quickly before it gets the chance to flee.
"Each of these pulses the eel gives off is activating the nervous system of the prey. The eel essentially has remote control over the prey's muscles and runs them to exhaustion, leaving the prey temporarily helpless," added Catania.
The curling maneuver is most popular and beneficial to younger eels with less electric power compared to their adult counterparts. Using the curling maneuver and basic physics, the electric eel manages to stun larger fish and feed itself.
With so much electric power running through their bodies, Catania, who is personally amazed by the animals, then begins to question how the sea creature protects its own brain, muscles and nervous system from getting electrocuted. So far, this remains an open question for the scientific community to embark on.
Photo: Dick Johnson | Flickr
