Shocker! Finnish Celebrity Electric Eel Gets Rescued After Swallowing Flashlight

The dramatic incident occurred on Christmas Eve, when Raipe the eel gulped down a flashlight dropped by a Sea Life attendant. The fish, whose predilection for metal and electricity has been noticed before, swallowed the appliance without thinking twice.

Raippe was ultimately fished out of his abode, even though it took longer than with ordinary fish due to the risk of electric shock. At the same time, the staff began looking for a hospital capable of providing urgent treatment to an exotic and potentially deadly patient, national broadcaster Yle reported.

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The challenge was accepted by the university veterinary clinic in Viiki in the metropolitan area. Veterinarian Okko Sukura managed to anesthetize the patient. The operation to retrieve the flashlight lasted for about half an hour. During this time, the patient's gills were generously sprinkled with oxygenated water. Recovering from anesthesia took another half an hour.

​Seven hours after the fateful encounter with the flashlight, Raipe returned to his pool. According to the oceanarium staff, the gluttonous eel sustained no serious injuries, as the patient's appetite quickly returned, and not only for electrical appliances.

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The electric eel is a member of the South American knifefish family, stemming from the Amazon basin. With an elongated cylindrical and scale-less body, electric eels grow to about 2 meters in length and 20 kilograms in weight. The electric eel has three pairs of abdominal organs producing electricity. These organs make up four-fifths of its body and give the eel the ability to generate two types of electric discharges: low voltage and high voltage. When hunting, electric eels generate shocks of up to 860 volts. Raipe himself has involuntarily blown out fuses at Sea Life.

​In Helsinki, Raipe is a local celebrity and has been named after legendary ice hockey player Raimo Helminen, who with his astonishing 26 seasons as a professional is the world record holder for most international games played and most Olympic appearances for hockey players. Today, Helminen coaches Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

​The Tennessee Aquarium in the US is home to an electric eel named Miguel Wattson (also known as Eelectric Miguel) who uses its electrical discharges to post from its own Twitter account.