• During their migration to the Sargasso Sea, eels don’t eat. They rely on their fat reserves to fuel the long journey.
• Female eels release between 20 and 30 million eggs once the reach the Sargasso Sea.
• Eels have weak jaws. To break food up into smaller pieces, they hold the food in their mouths and spin their bodies. They have been recorded to spin 6-14 times per second.
• One of the reasons eels have slime: aerodynamics. The slime reduces the amount of drag working against the eel.
• Eels can move across land to get around barriers in a stream.
• “Slippery as an eel” is not just a figure of speech. Eels have a layer of mucous covering their entire body which makes them extremely difficult to capture by hand.
• American Eels are nocturnal and during the day will hide under rocks.
• The male American Eel grows to about 2 feet long, while the female can grow to 3-5 feet long.
• Freshly caught eels are often kept in live boxes to get rid of any muddy flavor.
• Eels prefer to travel during dark and stormy nights.
• Hancock, NY is known as “The Gateway to the Delaware River.”
• Eels can swim backward and forward.
Eels - Did you know?
Can you swim backwards? Eels can. Watch The Eel King on Filthy Riches.
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