Eel with blue head - can anyone explain?

[soph1962]

Hi
I recently witnessed a great battle between a cormorant and an eel ( I think Anguilla anguilla) on the Thames at Richmond. The eel's head was a striking blue, as well as it having what looked like blue scratches on its body. I am completely baffled as to how or why it should have this colouring - some sort of fungal infection? or even paint?? Can anyone offer an explanation?

many thanks!

I have tried to post a picture into the image library but with no success - perhaps this link will work

cormorant 3 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

oh btw - the eel escaped in the end

[cutecoot]

How strange? That does look like blue paint.

That a really fab photo, btw .. pity the blue spoils it a bit, spose you can always airbrush it out!

[Kayleigh]

That don't look like an eel to me it looks like a post but I cant blow it up and my eyesight is rubbish....

[Hedera]

To me it looks as if the eel has got some blue plastic round its neck, has wrinkles in it.

[The Woodman]

It is an Eel (Anguilla a.) and the wrinkles are skin gather marks where the Cormorants top beak has gripped the fish. Great image and difficult to say what the origin of the blue colouration is but the Eel seems to be hanging limply which is not its usual defence strategy. It could just be the moment of the picture, however, as the pectoral fins appear to be "alive".

If you view the image on Original Size, the Eels right eye appears necrotic and the "blue " area of skin could be a result of physical damage caused by partial severance of the vertebrae.

I've seen Eels in very similar condition after passing through a hydro electric turbine and have an image of an Eel partially severed, the tail section very much alive and the head dead and infected with saprolegnia.

Lang's Lay wire rope is not very common these days though.

[tcvarlh]

A mystery, I cannot be a plastic bag or foil as the fish would be dead with something like that around its gills. I does look like paint but how would a fish get paint just there? Unless some fool decided to spill paint onto the water surface and the Eel swam up and gulped during the night. I'm not certain the eye is necrotic, it could be camera angle/light effect. As you say Woodman the fish seems to be hanging limply, which is not my experience of Eels at all. It should be fighting like a berserker to get free. You think it has a touch of 'Turbinitis,' Woodman, I bow to your greater experience. But it is most odd. A fascinating shot and one I would dearly like an answer to myself.

[soph1962]

many thanks for all your replies - it really is a mystery.
The eel did have a pretty good wriggle before it got free, but I think it was quite tired by the time I was photographing it.

I was astonished that the cormorant was so optimistic about its chances of swallowing such a massive thing - it looked to be at least 1 metre, if not more.

Well - if anyone else can offer any explanations I'd be extremely grateful!

thanks again
Soph

[Dogghound]

How far away from salt water is this?