NINEMSN (Sydney, Australia) 07 December 10 Electric eel shocks caiman to death (Henri Paget)
Video has emerged showing a caiman biting an electric eel and being shocked to death on a riverbank in the Amazon, sparking a heated animal rights debate.
The video, posted on YouTube last month, shows the crocodilian reptile attacking the eel, which has been hooked by a fisherman.
The caiman bites down on the eel but begins trembling as the electricity from the creature courses through its body.
"Nature is incredible," the fisherman says in Portuguese.
By the end of the one minute video it is clear that both animals are dead.
The video has prompted a discussion about animal rights online, with many YouTube users slamming the fisherman for allowing the animals to attack each other.
"This guy is a coward ... he created a situation that rarely happens in real life," one of the top-rated YouTube comments reads.
Other viewers said that what he did could be illegal because he contributed to the death of a caiman, a protected species.
Caimans, which are relatives of the crocodile and alligator, are found in Central and South America and were once hunted for their skins.
Electric eels, native to South America, have special glands that can generate a shock of up to 500 volts — enough to kill an adult human.
Despite the controversy, the fisherman who posted the video late last month has been contacted by Brazilian herpetologists for help documenting the rare event.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8177047/electric-eel-shocks-caiman-to-death

{Video link at URL below}
VIRGULA (Brasil) 07 December 10 Jacaré é eletrocutado por enguia
Imagens de um cinegrafista amador/pescador mostram um jacaré tentando se aproveitar de uma enguia presa no anzol. Assim que ele abocanha o peixe, leva uma descarga que pode ter chegado a 1.500 volts.
Nós somos os primeiros a reclamar de qualquer maltrato com animais, mas nesse caso não dá para saber se foi proposital. Pela reação do câmera, tão surpreso quanto nós, não parece que seja uma caso de maldade.
E como ele mesmo diz, "é incrível a natureza. O jacaré sendo eletrocutado".
http://virgula.uol.com.br/ver/noticia/inacreditavel/2010/12/07/263903-jacare-e-eletrocutado-por-enguia

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