🐊 American alligator vs Electric eel 🐟
The American alligator is a bit bigger than the electric eel. The American alligator weighs about 25 times as much as the electric eel.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🐊 American alligator | 🐟 Electric eel |
|---|---|---|
| Size The American alligator is a bit bigger than the electric eel. | 8 to 11 ft2.4 to 3.4 m1 | 8.2 ft2.5 m2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight The American alligator weighs about 25 times as much as the electric eel. | 1,000 lb454 kg3 | 44 lb20 kg2 |
| Lives The American alligator usually lives about 3 times as long as the electric eel. | 50 years50 years1 | 10 to 22 years10 to 22 years2 |
| Eats The American alligator eats meat; the electric eel eats fish. | fish, turtles, frogs, snakes and birds | smaller fish, while young ones eat tiny animals with no backbone |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | swamps, marshes, rivers and lakes of the southeastern United States | muddy river bottoms in northeastern South America, and sometimes swamps |
Which one? American alligator or electric eel
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the American alligator or the electric eel yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed.
10 things to know about American alligator vs Electric eel
- The American alligator: It digs pools in the swamp that help other animals in dry weather.
- The electric eel: A long river fish that can make electricity.
- They are different kinds of animal. The American alligator is a reptile, so it has scaly skin; the electric eel is a fish, so it breathes with gills.
- The American alligator is a bit bigger than the electric eel: 1 against 2.
- The American alligator weighs about 25 times as much as the electric eel. That is 3 for the American alligator and 2 for the electric eel.
- The American alligator usually lives about 3 times as long as the electric eel. Usual lifespans: 1 for the American alligator and 2 for the electric eel.
- The American alligator eats fish, turtles, frogs, snakes and birds. The electric eel eats smaller fish, while young ones eat tiny animals with no backbone.
- The American alligator lives in swamps, marshes, rivers and lakes of the southeastern United States. The electric eel lives in muddy river bottoms in northeastern South America, and sometimes swamps. They can live in the same kind of place.
- The American alligator: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 4
- The electric eel: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 5
Wow facts
🐊 American alligator
- Baby alligators chirp from inside their eggs.
- The warmth of the nest decides if hatchlings are males or females.
- An alligator's snout is wide and rounded, like a U.
🐟 Electric eel
- An electric eel can make electricity.
- It lives on muddy river bottoms in South America.
- Young electric eels eat tiny animals with no backbone.
Questions kids ask about American alligator and Electric eel
Which is bigger, American alligator or electric eel?
The American alligator is a bit bigger than the electric eel: 1 against 2.
Which is heavier, American alligator or electric eel?
The American alligator weighs about 25 times as much as the electric eel. That is 3 for the American alligator and 2 for the electric eel.
Which lives longer, American alligator or electric eel?
The American alligator usually lives about 3 times as long as the electric eel. Usual lifespans: 1 for the American alligator and 2 for the electric eel.
What do American alligator and electric eel eat?
The American alligator eats fish, turtles, frogs, snakes and birds. The electric eel eats smaller fish, while young ones eat tiny animals with no backbone.
Where do American alligator and electric eel live?
The American alligator lives in swamps, marshes, rivers and lakes of the southeastern United States. The electric eel lives in muddy river bottoms in northeastern South America, and sometimes swamps. They can live in the same kind of place.
Do American alligators eat electric eels?
The American alligator eats fish, turtles, frogs, snakes and birds. Electric eels are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Do electric eels eat American alligators?
The electric eel eats smaller fish, while young ones eat tiny animals with no backbone. American alligators are not in that list, which comes from its page. And the American alligator is a bit more than as long as the electric eel.
Who would win, American alligator or electric eel?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They can share the same kind of place, and real animals mostly keep out of each other's way. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/american-alligator-vs-electric-eel
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, Gulf Islands, checked 30 October 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Electrophorus electricus (electric eel), checked 10 November 2026.
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.