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Picture No 397. Courtesy of Tain & District Museum.
Year: 1948
Catalogue No. 1255

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The World's Oldest Eel

This eel was caught in Tain River in about 1891. It was kept in a tank at at 1 Queen Street , Tain, and was 57 years old when this picture was taken in 1948. It lived to be over 60 years old and outlived its capturer. The photo of the eel was taken by C W Ross (see Picture #290) who we think caught the eel when a boy.
Picture added on 12 March 2008.

Comments

The eel was caught as an elver about two inches in length and probably two years old by 14 year old Ernest Ross, brother of C W Ross, in 1895 along with minnows and other river denizens. They were housed in a small tub of water located in the garden, and in a few weeks they all died. All, except the eel which was taken indoors and became an accepted part of the household.
The eel was said to be 56 when it died in 1949 - not quite as old as the caption above suggests .
But - the world's oldest eel? I am afraid not. The International Council for the the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) report that the oldest eel in captivity was 85 years (probably in Nova Scotia, 1863 - 1948), and Dr D Jellyman (a specialist in eel longevity) has recorded a female longfin eel of 106 in Lake Rotoiti, New Zealand
.
Added by Alistair Ross on 12 November 2008.

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