Eel on the Playground

Last week one of the fifth grade students, Leif, found a dead eel on the playground! This was a first for our school. We are located on the Thornton River, adjacent to the Shenandoah National Park. The eel had been caught and partially eaten by either a hungry bird of prey or raccoon, then it was left on the edge of the play yard.

The eel happened to be an American Eel in its adult stage. The eel was approximately 12 inches long, with a girth of about five inches. These eels like freshwater, and live most of their lives in rivers and estuaries from the Chesapeake Bay to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The females spawn in salt water, going as far as the warm waters of Bermuda. These eels hunt at night, eating dead fish, carrion, invertabrates, insects, and in extreme situations other eels. During the day they hide in sand, gravel, or mud.

We decided to leave the eel for another hungry creature. The next day the eel was gone.