Electric eel lights a Christmas tree in the US

Visitors to the Tennessee aquarium may be shocked to learn that the Christmas tree is being lit from an unusual renewable energy source - an electric eel.

This electric eel is named Miguel Wattson and owns his own Twitter account @EelectricMiguel.

A special system is connected to Miguel's generating agency, triggering the eel's natural shocks to power nearby tree lights, the Tennessee aquarium. Miguel emits low voltages while trying to find food, an aquarium expert named Kimberly Hurt says.

That voltage translates into energy that makes the Christmas lights flicker and dim. When an eel feeds on food or gets excited, it releases a higher voltage that produces a bigger flash.

The electric eel species Electrophorus electricus lives in the Peruvian Amazon and Orinoco river basins, capable of releasing electricity up to 860 volts.(Photo: L. SOUSA).

Miguel's Twitter account allows it to share tweets created by its own discharge body, thanks to the coding of iCube center at Tennessee Tech University.

'They (the experts at the iCube center) combine electrical engineering and emerging business communications to create a voice for the eel,' center director Kevin Liska said.

Miguel tweets show off seemingly exciting content like 'SHAZAM !!!!' and 'ka-BLAMEROO !!!!!'. A video also posted to the account of the electric eel shows Miguel shaking the generator when the lights on a nearby Christmas tree are on and off.

Aquarium officials hope that lighting the Christmas tree will help the eel to understand its great value. For a long time, they have been considered as scary species and are not appreciated for their ability.

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