GIANT MOTTLED EELS SPOTTED

[Anchor Lead]

Have you heard about giant mottled eels? Now they sound quite unfamiliar to me but apparently they are a specieis that belong to the family of freshwater eels. They are rarely found in South Korea so their habitat, Cheonjiyeon Falls on Jejudo Island, has been designated as a natural monument. But a creature presumed to be a giant mottled eel was captured on KBS’ underwater camera near Jeongbang Waterfall in the southern island. Let's check it out.

[Pkg]

Located in Seogwipo, Jeju, Jeongbang Falls is Asia’s only waterfall where fresh water directly falls into the sea. Under the rough currents, a school of Chinese minnows can be seen - a fish indicating it is the most clean grade-one water. Sweetfish as well as amur gobies, a species of the gobiidae family, are seen through white water foam. A mottled eel is seen between rocks. Its body is covered with black spots. It is clearly different from freshwater eels. The creature is presumed to be a giant mottled eel, which is known to only live in Cheonjiyeon Falls.

[Soundbite] Han Jeong-ho(Korea Water Resources Corp.) : "One creature was seen having an irregular pattern of spots. This is a giant mottled eel, which, unlike freshwater eels, has speckles in an irregular pattern across its brownish body."

Measuring as long as two meters and weighing over 20 kilograms, the eels belong to a giant tropical fish family.

[Soundbite] Lee Seong-kyung(National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage) : "We will continue research to find the number of giant mottled eels living in Jeju, and the status of their inhabitation and habitats."

If the creature spotted in Jeongbang Falls is confirmed to be a giant mottled eel, Jeju will likely gain academic recognition as the northernmost habitat of the fish.