Picky Penguins At Japanese Aquarium Refuse To Eat Cheaper Fish
Food preferences can be a tough thing to change for us humans, and perhaps, the same can be said for some animals.
In a bid to cut costs amidst soaring inflation rates, an aquarium in Japan has started giving its penguins a cheaper type of fish to eat.
Source: ANNnewsCH on YouTube
Instead of being offered the usual aji, or Japanese horse mackerel, staff have been feeding the birds saba – a less expensive option – since May.
It’s clear they are not fans of the new menu. Some of the penguins flat-out turn their beaks up at the fish, while others peck at it gingerly.
If the scene looks familiar to you, it may be because it reminds you of a petulant child or coriander-hating friend.
Picky penguins shake their heads & turn beaks away from cheap fish
On Monday (4 Jul), Japanese news outlet ANN News ran a featurette about how inflation has affected the Hakone-en Aquarium, which is located in the Kanagawa prefecture of south Tokyo.
In the video, aquarium staff explain that they had to switch to saba as aji prices have gone up by 20% to 30% since last year.
Head zookeeper Hiroki Shimamoto also told VICE World News that the cost of running the aquarium has also increased by about 20% since the start of the year.
Source: ANNnewsCH on YouTube
The penguins don’t seem too happy with the change in menu, though.
Clips show the aquarium staff trying their best to feed the birds, but the creatures simply shake their heads and turn their beaks away from the less fancy fish.
Source: ANNnewsCH on YouTube
Call them picky and privileged, but these penguins sure know what they want.
Source: ANNnewsCH on YouTube
Animal lovers don’t have to worry about the penguins starving.
Mr Shimamoto told CNN that they “would never force any animal to eat what they don’t want”.
Aside from just giving them what they are used to, aquarium workers have resorted to creative methods to get the animals to eat, such as by mixing the cheaper mackarel with the pricier one.
Japanese aquarium also coping with high electricity prices
Rising food prices are not the only issue the aquarium is facing at the moment.
High electricity costs have also forced the company to take extra measures here and there.
These include switching off lights and reducing the frequency of cleaning the filtration tanks to an extent that doesn’t harm the animals.
Despite this, the aquarium has ruled out the idea of raising admission fees to help them cope.
According to CNN, they want to try their best to keep the establishment a “comfortable place” for guests to visit.
Even penguins are feeling the effects of inflation
It seems that no one is spared from the rising costs of living around the world.
Hopefully, as Japan slowly opens up to tourists, more people will soon be able to visit the aquarium.
That way, it can make enough money to feed its pampered penguins all the expensive aji they want.
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Featured image adapted from ANNnewsCH on YouTube.
