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(Journalist)
– A new study has revealed a big surprise about electric eels: they hunt in packs. Before the study published in Ecology and evolution, scientists believed the creatures hunted alone, zapped and then ate fish solo, reports the BBC. But in a Brazilian river in the Amazon, researchers for the first time documented a pack of Electric Volta eels (technically, knifefish) teaming up to corral and kill small fish, according to Live Science. Eels congregate in groups of about 100, then circle the grouse and gather them in shallow water. There, smaller groups of eels come closer and zap the tetra, sometimes with enough force to make them fly out of the water. The demobilized tetras are then easy to pick up. While it is common for mammals to hunt together, the practice is rare in fish, says CNET. It is believed that the number of fish species that do this is around 10.
“This is an extraordinary discovery,” says lead study author C. David de Santana, for Smithsonian Magazine. “Nothing like this has ever been documented in electric eels.” Volta’s electric eels grow to be around 8 feet in length and are capable of producing a shock of 860 volts, the most powerful of all creatures on Earth. If 10 of them zapped at the same time, that would be enough to power 100 light bulbs, Santana says. And, yes, he’s been zapped himself, describing him as strong enough to cause numbness in his arms. “It’s a really strong discharge, but the duration is really short,” he says. Researchers have documented the hunting strategy on several occasions on the Iriri River in Brazil, although they are unsure of its extent among eels elsewhere. They started a citizen science project to gather more information. (Read more stories about the electric eel.)
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