These penguins are not happy after their diet has been changed, swapping expensive fish for a cheaper option. One would think they wouldn’t notice, but they’ve made it clear they are upset with the change.
The animals at Japan’s Hakone-en Aquarium, an hour drive away from Tokyo, have had to slowly adapt to a new diet due to rising prices. The penguins’ and otters’ regular choice of food, the horse mackerel, has increased so much that the aquarium staff had to change it to a simila but cheaper option: mackerel.
Now aquarium workers have been struggling to make them eat their meals. Waving the fish in front of their faces to no avail, they’ve had to come up with creative ways to catch their attention. It seems like they are only willing to eat the mackerel if it is mixed with their old, more expensive food.
Besides the change in diet, the aquarium has also had to cut the number of circulation pumps from two to one, to reduce their electricity bill from 50% to 40%. They are making everything possible to avoid having to charge visitors more for their visit.
“We could raise the admission fee to the aquarium and fix this issue, but we would like to do our best to keep our facility a comfortable place for our guests to visit. We do not plan on raising admission prices,” Hiroki Shimamoto, aquarium keeper, said for CNN.
They also stated that they are trying their best to provide for their animals, since they consider them family. They would not force them to eat something they do not like and are hoping they slowly transition into the new diet.
