World's Oldest European Eel Dies at 155

The world's oldest known European eel died Friday at the ripe age of 155, Sweden officials announced, after living through the Civil War, two World Wars and the invention of the Internet.

"Åle" the Eel was thrown into the well of a cottage in the town of Brantevik in 1859 by a young boy, and famously lived out his days there until his last. At the time, it was common practice to place eels in wells so they would eat any insects that might contaminate the water source.

Tomas Kjellman, the owner of the well where Åle lived out his 155 years and where visitors frequented to see this incredible fish, remembers the eel fondly.

"It's an amazing feeling," Kjellman told Sweden's The Local. "Amazing that it lived so long.

"It was uncanny when we took off the lid and saw it in pieces. It had apparently been there for a while and had basically boiled," he added.

European eels (Anguilla anguilla), currently considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), run just a few feet long and usually live around anywhere from 10 to 20 years.

"Eels normally only live to be seven years old, they usually get so fat and their intestinal canals stop working. But this one just lived and lived and lived," Kjellman explained to The Local.

So naturally because Åle lived to a freakish 155 years old, he became somewhat of a celebrity in Sweden - he was featured in numerous Swedish books and TV programs. And many are mourning his recent death. Since Friday, Swedes have taken to Twitter to pay tribute to him under the hashtag "RIPalen" ("RIP eel"), BBC News reports.

Åle's remains are now being frozen and will undergo expert analysis in hopes of understanding the secret to his longevity. He is survived by another eel living in the well, believed to be "only" 110 years old.

According to the US Geological Survey, European eels are found along the Atlantic coast from Scandinavia to Morocco and in rivers of North Atlantic, Baltic and Mediterranean seas. They are nocturnal, finding hiding places or burrowing into mud or under stones during the day and coming out in search of food at night. They eat fish, mollusks and crustaceans.