Slippery challenge: can the European eel be saved from oblivion?

Project hopes to identify best habitats for extraordinary creature more endangered than giant panda - and shed light on mysterious breeding location

"That one is definitely over five years old, it could be eight to 10 years old," shouts Dr Peter Walker, as a writhing 50cm long eel is scooped out of the River Tone near Taunton in Somerset. "This year or next I would expect this one to be on its merry way."

The European eel makes an extraordinary 6,000km (3,728-mile) journey to the Sargasso Sea in the north Atlantic to spawn, from where its larvae travel all the way back. Now scientists hope a new project may shed light on this still mysterious part of eels' lifecycle, which could provide crucial help in protecting the species.