The Liv­ing Planet Aquar­ium in Utah is using an elec­tric eel to power the lights on a Christ­mas tree in its “Jour­ney To South Amer­ica” gallery. Terry Smith, project man­ager at Cache Val­ley Elec­tric, said the elec­tric­ity gen­er­ated by an eel in a nearby tank causes the four strands of lights on the 5-foot tree to flash inter­mit­tently at the Sandy aquar­ium. Offi­cials at the aquar­ium said elec­tric eels can dis­charge spe­cial­ized cells called elec­tro­cytes simul­ta­ne­ously to cre­ate a 600-volt elec­tric charge equal to about five times the power of a stan­dard U.S. wall socket. The eel-powered tree will be on dis­play through Decem­ber 31st.

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