The adults, meanwhile, essentially crush their enemies in half.įlickr/Eva Funderburgh Wolf eel have an average lifespan of 25 years.Ī mature wolf eel seeks out hard-shelled invertebrates like crabs, sea urchins, and sand dollars. A young specimen has yet to grow its molars, however, and focuses primarily on catching small fish with their snaggle-toothed canines. Striking at their prey is done in the same manner that swimming is - a wolf eel coils into an S-shape to lunge forward. While the young begin their feeding as 1.6-inch larvae that consume zooplankton while drifting on currents, active hunts with their jaws and canines begin within days. It essentially curves into an S-shape to push forward across the sea. Not unlike a snake on the ground, the wolf eel uses its body to propel itself forward. It may be a vicious-looking eel, but it totally has the opposite temperament.” Threats To The Wolf Eel’s Future

“Their jaws are very strong and if you got your finger in there you’d regret it. “They’ve got faces only a mother could love,” said Scott Reid of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Are Wolf Eels Dangerous?įlickr/California Department of Fish and Wildlife A wolf eel in its cave. While many people across this third of the globe might find themselves terrified by the wolf eel, these gentle giants are not what they seem. And unlike its cousins, the wolf eel slithers through a vast swathe of the Pacific, from the waters of Northern California and the Bering Sea to the Sea of Japan. However, these monsters of the deep are much friendlier than you’d ever think - and they aren’t actually eels at all.Ĭontrary to popular belief, the wolf eel ( Anarrhichthys ocellatus) belongs to the wolffish family, though this particular specimen is notably longer than its relatives. One of the most terrifying of these is the wolf eel of the North Pacific - a remarkably ugly creature that can grow up to eight feet long and sports powerful jaws and sharp teeth. Despite its monstrous jaws and teeth, the wolf eel is actually a gentle giant that’s even known to cuddle with divers.įew beasts strike more fear into the hearts of humans than those that make their homes in the unknown darkness.

Wolf eel length