Fish and Their Fabulous Neighbors [183 



ff 



EELS WITH BUILT-IN BATTERIES 



The electric eel of South America carries a formidable electric charge with enough 

 current to light several bulbs. This creature, which may reach a length of as much 

 as seven feet when full grown, uses shock tactics to immobilize its prey, devouring 

 its victims at its convenience. It is toothless, so has to swallow them whole. 



Just as zoos give you an opportunity to see strange mammals, 

 so public aquariums present some rare and exotic fishes. A trip 

 to one of these aquariums is the best substitute for a trip 

 underseas. 



SHARKS Nor So FEROCIOUS 



The "ferocious" shark, like the pirates of old who cap- 

 tured the imagination of adventure-loving children, represents a 

 terrible menace of the sea. Any story of shipwreck immediately 

 takes on an element of terror when "shark-infested waters" are 

 mentioned. 



Yet it is claimed sometimes that sharks never attack humans 

 but eat only small forms of oceanic life. If you watch native boys 

 fearlessly diving after coins tossed by tourists in the harbor of 

 Nassau in the Bahamas, you may conclude that there is a sound 

 basis for this theory. Frequently the fins of sharks which abound 

 in nearby waters may be seen cutting the surface close by the 

 divers yet the sharks never molest the boys. The probable ex- 



