The Sumida Aquarium in Tokyo has been closed since March 1st because of the pandemic. They are dealing with an unusual problem. Their beloved Garden Eels are forgetting about humans. The normally extroverted eels are used to hundreds of faces peering down at them throughout the day. Now that the aquarium has been closed for months, the eels are nervous to come out of their burrows for their keepers. They dive back into the sand whenever the keepers walk by, making it hard to do their scheduled checkups.
To solve the problem, the aquarium organized a “Garden Eel Festival.” Between May 3rd and 5th, anyone could Facetime the eels in their tanks. The eels are very beloved so many people jumped at the chance to see the eels again. Due to volume, the aquarium had to limit calls to 5 minutes.
Seeing human faces again helped the eels not be so scared of their keepers. The humans appreciated being to see the eels again. Win-Win!
What animal would you like to Facetime?
