There’s a creature on the farm that I find simply repulsive – eeeeeeels! Their hideous faces are teamed with swishing slippery bodies so readily mistaken for snakes. And we have them by the tonne.
It seems almost every time I set the dam siphon running, I get a hair-raising encounter with these ugly things.
Zoe and Patch inspect a pool of writhing eels
But they are incredible creatures and, instinctive fear aside, I have a lot of respect for them. You see, the eels in our dam have actually come all the way from the tropics – New Caledonia perhaps – travelling thousands of kilometres to reach our little patch of paradise.
They can live 50 years, “breathe” on land, grow up to 2 metres long and weigh 20kgs and eat everything from dragonfly larvae to small ducks.
Apparently, they’re tasty, too.
Read more about extreme eels – I guarantee you’ll be amazed!
The Milk Maid Marian 