Can an Electric Eel Kill You? (860 Volts & Other Shocking Truths) | Smartest Year Ever (June 22, 2025)

It’s the shocking finale of Weird Animals Week. Gordy dives into the strange biology of the so-called electric eel—which isn’t actually an eel at all. From the Amazon’s murky waters to real-life eel-powered Christmas trees, this episode uncovers how this bizarre knifefish creates the strongest bioelectric discharge in the animal kingdom—up to 860 volts.

But can it really kill a human?

Find out how electric eels use their biological Taser systems to hunt, navigate, defend, and even coordinate group attacks. Discover why they don’t just shock—they strategize. And why voltage alone isn’t what makes electricity dangerous.

This one’s packed with wild science, misunderstood myths, and one of the strangest natural weapons on Earth.

Don’t miss the electric end to Weird Animals Week.

Sources

• Catania, K. C. (2014). Electric eels use high-voltage to track fast-moving prey. Nature Communications, 5, 4788. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4788
  

• de Santana, C. D., et al. (2019). Unexpected species diversity in electric eels with a description of the strongest living bioelectricity generator. Nature Communications, 10, 4677. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11690-z
  

• Humboldt, A. von. (1814). Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America.
  

• Tennessee Aquarium. (2012). Electric Eel Powers Holiday Lights.
  

• Macintyre, B. (2016). Eel shock: The biology behind nature’s own Taser. New Scientist.
  

• Gallant, J. R., et al. (2014). Genomic basis for the convergent evolution of electric organs. Science, 344(6191), 1522–1525.
  

#AnimalFacts #ElectricEel #WeirdAnimals #biologyfacts #wildnature #DailyFacts #DidYouKnow #biology #naturefacts Music thanks to Zapsplat.