00:00you've no doubt heard the phrase slippery as an eel and a new study looking at baby japanese
00:08eels specifically has revealed just how true that is this video was captured by researchers
00:13with nagasaki university and what you're seeing is an infant eel swimming backwards out of the
00:18stomach of a predator the skilled escape was captured via x-ray video and you can see the
00:23recently swallowed eel making its way in reverse up from the belly and out the gills of the fish
00:28the researchers say this is the first ever observation of an eel's escape from within the
00:32digestive tract of a predator adding about their findings at this point the japanese eel is the only
00:38species of fish confirmed to be able to escape from the digestive tract of the predatory fish after
00:43being captured this escape route was first observed a couple of years ago but this is the first time
00:48it was captured on x-ray video which showed the whole process in fact experts initially believed
00:53that eels only made it as far as the fish's mouth somehow preventing themselves from being swallowed
00:57before making their escape however this video clearly shows the eels are completely consumed
01:02before backing up the esophagus and out the gills experts say this not only provides new insights
01:07about the strength and acidic resiliency of these eels but it also suggests that perhaps
01:11other creatures possess similar adaptations
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