If the Eel is the positive terminal, where’s the negative terminal? If you’re grounded by the water, would that mean the Eel can only shock you if you are in the water too? If the water is the final destination, why wouldn’t the current directly go from the Eel to the water? Why would it take a high resistance path through your body?
In: Physics
As I understand it, these eels have organs that can chemically produce electricity in bursts, some mild to find prey, stronger to stun it. When attacking they’ll leap across the prey’s body and jolt it until the prey stops moving or the chemical reserves are exhausted.
I’ve seen a video of them ganging up on a wayward caiman that strayed into a pool the eel’s had gotten trapped in when the river floods receded. The caiman was twitching with every jolt, eyeballs clicking up. After the eels were exhausted, the animal slowly crawled away. Being cold blooded, the momentary paralysis wasn’t deadly as it would be to a mammal.
BTW, the eels are blind, the constant jolting kills the eyes. But they can sense any sort of electric current, it’s how they locate prey, much like part of a shark’s hunting ability.
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