Even though I didn't know I'd been waiting for it, it's hard not to be excited by the introduction of an electric eel that sends tweets to its own Twitter account.

Even better? It's an eel named Wattson. Miguel Wattson.

Yes, this eel-with-a-human name lives at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga and produces enough voltage to create tweets, according to Aquarium spokesman Thom Benson. Miguel's natural volts are aided by a computer program created by Tennessee Tech University's Business Media Center.

"This was a really fun project for our multi-disciplinary team," said Kevin Liska, director of the Business Media Center. "They combined electrical engineering and emerging business communication to give the eel a voice."

Go to Twitter and find @EelectricMiguel to read samples from the eel's first week of tweets, including more than a few that are a little fishy, such as "If it's a crime to like fish puns, then I'm gill-ty!" He also tweets random facts about eels and other inhabitants of the aquarium.

I don't need coffee to get my afternoon jolt! — Miguel Wattson TNAQ (@EelectricMiguel) January 8, 2015

Why are eels electric?

"In the wild, electric eels use their voltage to navigate, stun prey and as a defense mechanism," said Brad Thompson, an aquarist. "They have complete control of their discharges varying the amount of energy released to meet their needs."

Electric eels have three different electric-producing organs in its body: the main organ, the Hunter's organ and the Sach's organ, Thompson said. Thousands of cells in these organs called electrocytes produce two different discharges - a high voltage and a low voltage.

Low voltage discharges help eels with electrolocation. "It allows the eel to locate prey and to sense its environment," Thompson said. "It's a handy trick for an animal with small eyes that lives in very murky water in the Amazon and Orinoco River basins of South America."

The new eel habitat at the Tennessee Aquarium features probes in the water to detect the discharges. The leads are connected to an amplifier and LED meter with a display that shows visitors how eels can vary their underwater bursts of electricity.

When Miguel is moving or feeding, "...ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!....this display sounds like a thunderstorm," Benson said.

That's when Aquarium officials had the idea to harness the flow of electrons to operate a Twitter account that helps "spark conversations about eels, freshwater fishes and energy conservation with a worldwide audience."

Wattson. Miguel Wattson. Licensed to eel. — Miguel Wattson TNAQ (@EelectricMiguel) January 15, 2015

When at the Aquarium, Benson said, visitors "can keep one eye on the electric eel's home and the other on Twitter to see if the most recent jolt of energy has enough amperage to trigger a Tweet."

Five 'shocking' facts about electric eels from the Tennessee Aquarium:

The electric eel (

Electric eels are obligate air breathers. They gulp air from the surface, giving them the ability to live in poorly oxygenated waters.

Electric eels have three different electric producing organs made up of cells called electrocytes.

Large electric eels can vary the amount of voltage released between 10 and 850 volts.

One big jolt from an electric eel could light up 20, 40-watt DC light bulbs for an instant.

Watch Miguel Wattson at the Tennessee Aquarium: