Electric eels are Apex predators......wicked!

David's class recently studied "Oceans" and to wrap up the unit the teacher assigned a project for each child to contribute to. They were each assigned an ocean creature and asked to write about the creature, identify which zone of the ocean they are from, their enemies, their reproduction, etc. and on and on it went. When they were all completed, it would be compiled into a book. I saw David's assignment was Electric Eel.  I also saw the assignment sit for the week, untouched, even though he usually likes to complete his homework and projects as soon as possible. It was due on a Monday. On Saturday I was full-on harassing him to get it done. Finally I asked him why he wasn't working on it, especially since he is interested in Electric Eels. He looks at me and says "mom, I don't want to do it, electric eels are NOT ocean creatures. I don't know why she assigned that to me." 

THIS was a shock to me. (gratuitous pun opportunity) If you had asked me, they are in the ocean...for sure. Mrs. Farrington obviously even thinks so. Since I did not quite believe Dave, I looked Electric eels up in Google. Gordie was laughing because he sensed Dave was correct. Moments later, I found myself muttering "Um, yeah, he's right, they live in slow moving rivers in South America, the Amazon and the Orinoco" So I kept on googling, Electric eel ocean; Electric eel Atlantic, (insert every other ocean name) no luck, it simply isn't an ocean creature. 

Seeing as it was Saturday and we could not ask the teacher for a different creature, we had no choice but to work with the Electric eel.  I asked Dave what ocean zone would something like the Amazon be and he though it could marginally qualify as the Sunlit Zone. We were able to put that behind us and move on to working with our faulty subject matter. 

We got a book from the Library which had exactly one page about the Electric Ray and the Electric eel. Books are 'so yesterday'. I was amazed to see that I am still squeamish about turning pages of Ocean books, I hate unexpectedly turning the page to a huge fish or shark face. Since the book was no help, the internet was where we got our info- and lots of it. The Electric Eel is an Apex predator, meaning it has no predators, it joins ranks with Great White Sharks, some crazy possessed Tiger species and a bunch of other animals I hope to never meet. Also it reproduces by the 10,000's at a time, laying eggs in the muddy banks of the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers. When the rainy season comes the rain washes the mud away and the little cute baby eels swim away. Another thing- you don't have to be touching the Eel for it to shock you, it uses its super powers to sense your proximity and zaps away at you til its all over, even the crying.   So, yes, it is a delightful dubious ocean creature and we were happy to learn all about it and share with you the joy that is the Electric eel.  

I do have a burning question about the Orinoco, since it was brought up. Why is there a lilting, haunting melody about it, sung so beautifully by Celtic Woman and Enya, if in fact it houses, caters to and even harbors the eggs of Apex predators? It just doesn't seem right. "Let me Sail, Let me Sail on the Orinoco Flow, Let me reach, let me beach, on the shores of Tripoli"........it will never be the same song for me again.