Whispering up those eels
Sean Gardiner knows where to find them, feed them and how to tend to their bite - after all he does consider himself an ‘‘eel whisperer’’.
Utilising his talent and knowhow, the Taranaki Regional Council’s environment officer attracted eels at the Huatoki Plaza on Saturday with raw chicken while spectators listened to facts on the freshwater predator.
‘‘They can live to be up to 100 years old and weigh up to 20 kilograms,’’ he said.
‘‘Females tend to be the largest and males are more torpedo shaped.’’
Their bite feels a lot like strong sandpaper. They do have a bit of power to them, but once they realise they can’t spin, they’ll back off.
Sean Gardiner
The midday gathering on Saturday was the conclusion to a scavenger hunt put on by Wild for Taranaki - an umbrella body for Taranaki Biodiversity Trust with TRC - in conjunction with an international day celebrating wetlands.
World Wetlands Day is an annual event held on February 2 and marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands in 1971.
To recognise the day in Taranaki the event held in New Plymouth invited interested families to complete a scavenger hunt for prizes and an eel display offered by Gardiner.
While he was unsuccessful in catching one of the ‘‘well-fed’’ eels, Gardiner maintained a keen interest from a handful of children who would all point and shout when spotting an eel.
‘‘Has anyone here ever been bitten by an eel?,’’ Gardener asked.
In response to a recent story about a woman bitten in the Te Henui Stream, Gardiner explained eels are territorial but the low warm waters coupled with frequent swimmers has seen them act more aggressively lately.
‘‘Their bite feels a lot like strong sandpaper,’’ he said.
‘‘They do have a bit of power to them.
‘‘But once they realise they can’t spin, they’ll back off.’’
Gardiner found an interest in eels at a young age through his father and grandfather and he can spout endless information on the native New Zealand creature.
Eels are the most widespread freshwater predator in the country. They can be found everywhere from swimming over a waterfall to lurking in dark shallow pools, Gardiner said.
When spawning, eels travel thousands of kilometres to New Caledonia where each female will lay 20 million eggs.
Once hatched, the tiny babies will float in the ocean for one year before they arrive in New Zealand as glass eels, later turning into brown elvers and progressing into the rivers.
‘‘They eat insects, rats, ducklings and even small pu¯ keko.
‘‘Basically they’ll eat anything they can get a grip on.’’
Before feeding, Gardiner said hands should be wet because if an eel is touched by dry hands, a mucus layer on their skin can be stripped off and expose them to bacteria or fungal infections.
There is no way to accurately determine an eel’s age as they ‘‘can grow really fast’’ dependent on how abundant the available food supply is, he said.
However, Gardiner added, two bones in the head near the eel’s ears have little rings inside that can be counted - much like how one determines the age of a tree.
‘‘They’re a real treasure to have,’’ he said.
‘‘Habitation loss and pollution has started to affect them though. So we need to do what we can to protect them.’’