Electric eel Facts for Kids
Electrophorus electricus · ee-lek-TROFF-or-us ee-LEK-trih-kus
A long river fish that can make electricity.
- 🏃 speed: not yet checked
- ⚖️ 44 lb20 kg1
- 📏 8.2 ft2.5 m1 long
- 🎂 10 to 22 years10 to 22 years1
- 🍽️ fish
- Doing fine (Least Concern)
An electric eel is a long fish that can make electricity. It lives in muddy rivers in South America. It eats smaller fish.
Electric eels live on the muddy bottoms of rivers in northeastern South America, and sometimes in swamps. An adult eats smaller fish. A young one eats tiny animals that have no backbone.
An electric eel is a long river fish that can make electricity. It lives in northeastern South America, in the Orinoco and Amazon rivers and the rivers of the Guianas, on muddy river bottoms and sometimes in swamps. A grown one eats smaller fish, and a young one eats tiny animals with no backbone. It can grow longer than most grown-ups are tall.
How big is a electric eel?
Electric eel in numbers
| Length | 8.2 ft2.5 m1up to; body length |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | no checked number yet |
| Weight | 44 lb20 kg1up to |
| Top speed | no checked number yet |
| How long it lives | 10 to 22 years10 to 22 years1in human care; males and females |
| What it eats | smaller fish, while young ones eat tiny animals with no backbone |
| Where it lives | muddy river bottoms in northeastern South America, and sometimes swamps |
| What kind | Fish |
| Is it in danger? | Doing fine (Least Concern)2 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- An electric eel can make electricity.
- It lives on muddy river bottoms in South America.
- Young electric eels eat tiny animals with no backbone.
Compare the electric eel
Friends and neighbours
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Books about the electric eel, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the electric eel for free.
For teachers
Use this animal in class: its facts are on this page, and the cards print from it.
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Electrophorus electricus (electric eel), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, Electric eel (Q201235), checked 30 October 2026.