Electric Animals and Human
Are they dangerous?
Can they kill us?
Let's explore! (:
Eels and People:
Deaths to people from electric eel shocks are very rare, but not unheard of.
Repeated shocks have been known to cause respiratory and heart failure.
People drowning after being stunned is more common.
Do you know?
However, releasing repeated charges will wear out an eel, making them vulnerable to capture.
INTERESTING FACTO!
Adult eels will generally tolerate one another, but young eels will fight for supremacy and eels of any age will attack other fish.
Stingrays with People:
There are no confirmed human fatalities from interactions with electric rays, but a shock from one is more than enough to knock down a full grown human.
There are even reports of ancient Greeks and Romans taking live rays from the sea and using weaker electrical charges to numb the pains of childbirth and various simple surgeries.
Romans were also known to use the torpedo fish’s electrical currents in the treatment of headaches and more commonly, gout.
Electric Catfish and People:
It is not at all uncommon to find electric catfish for sale to the public, although no successful captive breeding program has been founded.
Even a tiny two-inch catfish can deliver a potent charge, making their handling very tricky.
The electric catfish has co-existed with man for countless centuries.
There are pictures of electric catfish on Egyptian tombs dating back over 5000 years.
The ancient Egyptians harbored a healthy respect for the electric catfish because of its shocking capabilities.
Its name translates to mean “he who has saved many in the seas.”
Presumably, this was due to the loss of many nets of fish when they were dropped back into the water following a discharge from a netted catfish.
Interesting yea?
There are many more animals which will stun us with magnetism!
Let's move on to Magnetism and Animals!