I found one account from 1959 where a commercial fisherman was bitten and “The teeth penetrated the hip-waders and broke the skin on both sides of the ankle.” Not surprisingly, wolf eels might also be defensive when accidentally caught by anglers. There is no legal fishery for this species but there is a demand for them in the Asian market, which is why there are also attempts to farm wolf-fish i.e. It also makes them tragically easy targets for any spear diver wanting to poach them. That’s where accidents can happen and where the wild behaviour that lets animals survive, becomes compromised. Some divers choose to feed them, leading to the wolf-eels associating us with food. Each wolf-eel has a unique pattern of black spots near its eyes. It is not just their address that makes they recognizable as individuals. Wolf eels spend a great deal of time on the ocean bottom in dens where, as divers, we have the enormous privilege of visiting the same spot and seeing the same individuals for years. To my knowledge there has never been an attack on a diver UNLESS, and here comes the predictable thing, we choose to habituate them. They also feed on other hard-shelled animals like shellfish and crabs.Įven the roofs of wolf-eels’ mouths are impenetrable with ossified, tooth-like projections. Yes, the mature males have very large, fleshy, ossified heads and the species has sharp teeth but this is so they can do what so few marine species can - they can feed on spiny sea urchins, snapping them effortlessly into pieces without suffering a single puncture. They are reclusive, anything but ferocious, quite sedentary and slow moving. The wolf-eel (Anarrhichythys ocellatus), which can be as long as 2.4 metres, is not an eel. I hope to make this point by sharing with you why the wolf-eel is “designed” as it is and how very wrong many of us are in our perceptions about this species. If the features of an animal appear foreign to you, it is because it fulfils a role in Nature that is truly awe-inspiring possibly even beyond your imaginings. There is no ugly in Nature – only perfection. Such is the way when there is misunderstanding and disrespect for something you love. It hurts when people say this about wolf-eels.
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