{"id":666236,"date":"2026-05-26T15:25:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T15:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/666236\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T15:25:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T15:25:09","slug":"massive-eel-like-fish-filmed-in-the-salish-sea-these-giants-can-grow-longer-than-a-park-bench","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/666236\/","title":{"rendered":"Massive eel-like fish filmed in the Salish Sea. These giants can grow longer than a park bench"},"content":{"rendered":"

While diving in the Salish Sea,\u00a0between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the US state of Washington, underwater videographer\u00a0John Roney<\/a>\u00a0came across one of the region\u2019s most iconic creatures:\u00a0wolf eels<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These enormous fish aren\u2019t actually eels at all. \u201cOne key distinction is that wolf eels have pectoral fins behind their heads, which is characteristic of fish, not marine eels like morays,\u201d explains\u00a0the\u00a0Seattle Aquarium<\/a>\u00a0on its website. \u201cPut simply, they\u2019re a just a long, skinny fish!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Footage shows a wolf eel swimming through dark waters in the Salish Sea. Credit: John Roney<\/p>\n

These ocean giants can grow to enormous sizes. \u201cOne of the stars of the Salish Sea, wolf eels can grow to nearly eight feet long (2.4m),\u201d says Roney on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>. That’s longer than the average park bench.<\/p>\n

One of the wolf eels he filmed may have been between 20 and 23 years old, according to Roney, and it was sporting an old wound.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cKnown for their appetite for sea urchins<\/a>, these massive fish spend a fair chunk of their time crunching down on hard spines,\u201d he explains. \u201cThis elderly wolf eel has taken some damage to his mouth from an urchin spine. But that injury has since healed over!\u201d<\/p>\n

Roney managed to capture a video wolf eel’s damaged mouth. Credit: John Roney<\/p>\n

Yet, juveniles look so different from adults that they could be mistaken for an entirely different species. While mature wolf eels are grizzled and grey, young fish are bright orange with a honeycomb-like pattern across their skin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To show the striking difference, Roney also shared a young wolf eel he had filmed a while ago, hoping that \u201cit\u2019s now old, grey and thriving somewhere in Nanoose Bay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wolf eel juvenile. Credit: John Roney <\/p>\n

Image and video credit: John Roney, @roneydives<\/a><\/p>\n

More wildlife stories from around the world<\/p>\n