All Eels are born in the same place

All American and European eels are born in the same place on Earth: the Sargasso Sea, just south of Bermuda, which is also the only named sea on earth not to have any land borders.

No one knows the precise location, nor have they ever observed them mating.

An Eel’s lifecycle:

1. Transparent larvae called leptocephali float on the surface of the Sargasso Sea, feeding on particles of organic matter called marine snow.

2. They transform into glass eels and are taken by currents for a few years either to the Americas or to Europe.

3. Upon reaching coastal areas, they use the tides to reach freshwater, where they pigment and change into elvers, before continuing upstream to find a habitat to grow in.

4. After 5-20 years, when they have grown sufficiently and stored enough fat, they transform in preparation for their final stage of life. They become silver, grow their eyes up to ten times larger, dissolve their stomachs, and grow their fins.

5. They set off back to the Sargasso Sea where it is believed that they mate, spawn their young, and die.

Wild.