00:03you've no doubt heard the phrase slippery as an eel and a new study looking at baby
00:07Japanese eels specifically has revealed just how true that is this video was captured by
00:13researchers with Nagasaki University and what you're seeing is an infant eel swimming backwards
00:17out of the stomach of a predator the skilled escape was captured via x-ray video and you
00:23can see the recently swallowed eel making its way in reverse up from the belly and out the gills of
00:28a fish the researchers say this is the first ever observation of an eel's escape from within the
00:33digestive tract of a predator adding about their findings at this point the Japanese eel is the
00:38only species of fish confirmed to be able to escape from the digestive tract of their predatory fish
00:43after being captured this escape route was first observed a couple of years ago but this is the
00:47first time it was captured on x-ray video which showed the whole process in fact experts initially
00:52believe that eels only made it as far as the fish's mouth somehow preventing themselves from being
00:57swallowed before making their escape however this video clearly shows the eels are completely
01:02consumed before backing up the esophagus and out the gills experts say this not only provides new
01:07insights about the strength and acidic resiliency of these eels but it also suggests that perhaps other
01:12other creatures possess similar adaptations
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