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“Eel-lectric!” is the 20th episode of the fourth season of Wild Kratts, originally airing on PBS Kids on January 19, 2017. Overall it is the 112nd episode of the series. On June 2, 2020, "Eel-lectric," was first released on DVD as part of Wild Kratts: Around the World Adventures.
In this episode, the Tortuga crashes in the Amazon rainforest and loses power. As the Kratts explore the rainforest, they come across an electric eel, a fish with the ability of electricity. The creature powers of the electric eel must be put to good use in order to defend the Tortuga against an infestation and power it up before it sinks into the river.
Synopsis[]
When the Tortuga crashes somewhere in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, the electrical system of the ship is destroyed. They are grounded and exposed to the elements and predators - like jaguars and caimains.
Plot[]
The episode begins a live-action segment. The Kratt brothers visiting the California Academy of Sciences and checking out the electric eel exhibit. They get the opportunity to feed the eels while explaining their ability to produce their own natural electricity. The brothers then wonder what it would be like to have the powers of an electric eel and the show transitions into the cartoon segment.
A harpy eagle flies over the Amazon Rainforest and the Wild Kratts, aboard the Tortuga, are pursuing it. They eventualy lose the raptor in the thick canopy of the rainforest. Jimmy states that he'd hate to get lost in the rainforest, but the brothers try to enlighten him by mentioning all of the dangerous fauna in the habitat. This causes him to faint in fear, not long before the Tortuga loses power and begins to make a nose-dive back to Earth. Aviva and Koki use cookies to wake Jimmy up, and he manages to steer the Tortuga near a river-bank for a crash landing. Koki deducts that the ship's electrical system is fried, and gets to work on fixing it. Chris and Martin see this as an opportunity to explore the Amazon rainforest. Unbeknownst to the crew, the damaged Tortuga has attracted the attention of jaguars and caimains.
In a nearby river within the forest, they encounter a strange swarm of creatures. They recognize these animals as electric eels. The swarm of electric eels electrocute the brothers, shocking them into the trees. Martin names one of the electric eels, Voltage, and they use the Creaturepod to examine the fish's anatomy to find special organs that enable its electricity. The electric eel uses a low voltage charge to sense movement in the water, and a high voltage charge to paralyze and eat its prey; a red-bellied piranha. Seeing this creature power in action, the brothers realize that Voltage might be the answer to their problem. Chris captures Voltage and takes him back to the Tortuga whilst Martin stays behind to learn more about the electric eels.
Meanwhile, the jaguars and caimains come closer to the Tortuga. The electrical circuits and wiring are fixed, but battery is still down. Chris offers Voltage as a power source, but Koki claims that it's not enough electricity to replace the battery. Their recourse is to use Voltage to power up the Mobile Invention Kit by using a Fishmobile as bait. This allows Aviva to begin her programming of Electric Eel Power Discs. Back at the river, Martin carefully swims through the eel swarm and witnesses a nest of electric eel eggs, being guarded by the father eel, who zaps Martin. Martin realizes that Voltage was a dad, and that capturing him left his eggs defenseless. Martin calls Chris to tell him to bring Voltage back to his territory in order to protect his nest. Carrying Voltage and Aviva (who still needs more power to program the discs,) Chris heads back to the river to save the nest. However, this leaves the Tortuga unprotected from caimains and jaguars that advance upon the ship.
Chris and Aviva are able to get Voltage back to the nest just in time to defend it from a hunting caimain. With Voltage back home, Aviva finishes the discs and gives it to the Kratts. At that moment, they spot an SOS signal coming from the Tortuga and realize that Jimmy and Koki are in trouble. The brothers decide to take the water route, but realize that they'll need to touch the electric eel to activate. Aviva pushes them to hurry, so they hesitantly touch Voltage, and activate their Creature Power Suits. In their new power suits, they head back to the Tortuga, which has been flooded and invaded by a jaguar and a caimain. Using Electric Eel Powers, they fend off the predators, but the Tortuga is in danger of slipping into the river. Thinking quickly, they use their electricity to bring the Tortuga back online. The bros then bear witness to the hatching of Voltage's first litter of baby electric eels.
The episode then transitions into the closing live-action segment. The brothers experiment the electric eel's electricity by seeing if it can charge a battery. The experiment works and the light bulb is lit. Afterwards, they conclude the episode by saying "Keep on Creature Adventuring! We'll see you on the Creature Trail!"
Animals[]
Animation[]
Note: Featured animals are in bold.
- Electric Eel: Voltage
- Harpy Eagle
- Spectacled Caiman (called Caiman)
- Jaguar
- Red-bellied Piranha (called Piranha)
Mentioned[]
Note: Mentioned animals are linked to Wikipedia.
Trivia[]
- This episode erroneously describes electric eels as "eels." In reality, (despite their name), they are actually a type of fish, closely related to bass.
- Additionally, the caimains in this episode are incorrectly referred to as "caimain crocodiles." Whilst caimains are closely related to crocodiles, existing in the same order, Crocodilia, they are not in the same family or genus, and thus are not classified as a species of crocodile.
Key facts and Creature Moments[]
- Electric eels create electricity using special electrical organs that comprise most of its body, essentially making it a living battery.
- Electric eels use their bioelectrical powers for navigation via electroreception due to their poor eyesight, hunting and killing prey as they have no teeth, and as a defence against predators.
- An electric eel can produce high voltages more powerful than an electric wall socket.
- An electric eel using natural electricity to catch and eat a piranha.
- An electric eel using natural electricity to fend off a caiman.
- Electric eels are good fathers who look after their babies by making a nest out of saliva, guarding them against predators until they are big enough to produce their own electricity for defence.
Home Media[]
DVD[]
- Around the World Adventures
