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In this episode, Katherine Rundell introduces one of the ocean’s most mysterious creatures: the eel. At 19, Sigmund Freud dissected hundreds in search of their reproductive organs - a futile mission, as we now know European eels only develop them when they begin their long journey to the Sargasso Sea to spawn. Their lifecycle remains one of nature’s great enigmas: after hatching, young eels travel 6,500 kilometres to live in European rivers for decades before returning to the ocean to reproduce. There are over a thousand species of eel, many with striking appearances - from the fangtooth moray with its vivid yellow head to the pelican eel with its enormous, gaping mouth. But the most urgent mystery is their rapid decline. Once common, eels are now critically endangered, with populations plummeting due to habitat loss, climate change, and overfishing. Written and presented by Katherine Rundell Produced for ��ѿ��ý Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan