Eels

Eels live in lakes. They are black and grey. They have very good speed and are known for sliding across land at night.

Why do eels go up and down stream?

When they are born they come down stream and then when they have lived for a long time they will try to get back up the river and have babies. Some don't make it back up stream. They get scratches from the rocks and the rock pools are too deep and they can not get back up. It is because the water is warmer than it is up the stream than down the stream. Down the bottom there is more food to eat than up the top of the stream, that is why they go up and down.

How did the early maoris catch the eels?

They caught them using big nets because the eels snake like body they would just slip out of their hands.

What did they use for bait to catch the eels?

Back in the day they didn’t have fresh fish like we do now. They only had little bites of dead fish. They were like a first class meal to the eels, so they came in and ate it straight away. That is how the Maoris caught them so fast.

How fast can eels swim?

They can swim up to 20 mph. They use this to get away from people, other fish and sometimes other eels. This makes them one of the fastest fish/snake. They can also swim for a long, long, long time.

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