Ugh. The need to include us in click bait is so annoying.
No urban myth, the truth behind Sydney's Centennial Park Eels is even more fantastic
This slimy local resident of the murky ponds in Sydney's Centennial Park is a long-finned Eel.
They can also famously be seen in the Parramatta River, and countless waterways around New South Wales.
But Centennial Park is not obviously connected to a river or stream, so where on earth do these pond-dwelling eels come from?
The answer to this long-standing question lies over 2000 kilometres away in the French island of New Caledonia, and counts on every eel beating 20 million-to-one odds.
It turns out these eels don't just appear in the inland park - they migrate through a near-miraculous journey over Golf Courses, Airport Runways and Pacific Islands, all to end up in Sydney's eastern Suburbs.
A spokesperson for Greater Sydney Parklands confirmed the famous Eels take the migration of Attenborough-like proportions.
"The long-finned eels found in Centennial Parklands are primarily born in New Caledonia," Claire Thompson, a park representative said.
Their birth reportedly takes place in the deep tropical waters of an ocean trench, over 2000 kilometres from Sydney.
The eels are born in the ocean off New Caledonia, the pacific island north-east from Australia.
An ocean trench off the island's coast marks the beginning and end of the once-in-a-lifetime journey, and can be up to 10 kilometres deep.
There, the female eel produces around 20 million eggs, leaving each of them to fend for themselves.
After spawning, the adult dies - and for every million eggs produced, only one will live long enough to make it to maturity.
After hatching, the juvenile Eels use the Pacific Ocean currents to drift across the ocean towards the east coast of Australia - zeroing on the park.
The Eels infiltrate 15 kilometres inland to Centennial Park by entering the waters of Botany Bay, at the "mill stream" a tiny inlet next to the eastern runway of Sydney International Airport.
The junior Eels, also known as "Elvers", most likely make use of the "green corridor" between Botany Bay and the parklands.
The eels swim upstream from pond to pond, traversing the airport marshes, Botany Wetlands, the Eastlakes and Botany Dams.
They cross the waterways of two suburban golf courses, belonging to the Lakes Golf Club and the Australian Golf Club.
From there the journey continues through man-made stormwater channels, around the Racecourse at Randwick, and all the way to the inlets at the park's ponds.
Most shockingly of all, in times of low rainfall when the waterways and golf-club fairways are dry, the Eels can even flip and slide their way over short distances on land.
Once the junior eels arrive in Centennial Park, they can live there from 20 to 80 years time.
When the eels have grown into mature adults, towards the end of their lifespan, they make the entire trek again - in reverse.
This journey takes place in the autumn months in Sydney, when high rainfall makes it easier for the eels to transit to Botany Bay.
They also mostly migrate at night, due to their nocturnal nature.
Finally, they return to New Caledonia, now ready to give birth to a new generation of globe-trotting Eels.
www.parraeels.com.au
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