Japanese aquarium urges public to video-chat eels who are forgetting humans exist - The Guardian

Japanese aquarium urges public to video-chat eels who are forgetting humans exist - The Guardian

Japanese aquarium urges public to video-chat eels who are forgetting humans exist - The Guardian

Posted: 01 May 2020 12:00 AM PDT

When the garden eels at a Tokyo aquarium remove their heads from the sand, they are usually confronted by pairs of human eyes staring back at them through the glass.

But like other animals around the world, the eels at Sumida Aquarium are finding their environment transformed by the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.

They also appear to be forgetting what humans look like. Concerned that the garden eels – so named because their grass-like appearance when, en masse, they poke their heads out of the seabed – could come to see visitors as a threat, the aquarium is asking people to get in touch in the form of a calming video calls.

The aquarium, housed in Tokyo Skytree – Japan's tallest structure – has been closed since the start of March and its garden eels have become used to a largely human-free environment.

But the aquarium said the "unprecedented situation" had put the eels and other creatures ill at ease.

Animal tragic: New Zealand zoos strive to entertain lonely inhabitants amid lockdown

"They don't see humans, except keepers, and they have started forgetting about humans," it said on its Twitter account this week.

"Garden eels in particular disappear into the sand and hide every time the keepers pass by," it said, adding that their oversensitive nature was making it difficult to monitor their health.

"Here is an urgent request," the aquarium wrote. "Could you show your face to our garden eels from your home?" it said, naming the event a "face-showing festival".

While garden eels are sensitive and wary by nature, the 300 of them living in one of the aquarium's tanks had grown accustomed to human visitors and rarely hid when approached by visitors.

To help the eels reconnect with their admirers, the aquarium is setting up five tablets facing their tank, with users asked to connect through iPhones or iPads via the FaceTime app.

Once the video calls start, people are asked to show their faces, wave and talk to the eels. But, given the animals' natural bashfulness, they are requested not to raise their voices.

The festival is scheduled for 3-5 May, at the height of the Golden Week holiday, when many people who would normally travel are staying home during the country's Covid-19 state of emergency.

The aquarium's plea has attracted lots of online support, under the Japanese hashtag #PleaseRememberHumans.

"'When you gaze at the garden eels, the garden eels gaze at you.' Understood. I'm happy to take part," one Twitter user wrote.

"They need training to learn humans are not a threat!" another wrote. "Interesting."

Many called on the aquarium to offer access to the eels via another app to allow those using PCs and phones with Android operating systems to take part.

"I never regretted my Android phone this much before," one wrote.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post

This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post Posted: 05 Jun 2016 12:00 AM PDT With exacting precision, the surgeon inserted the scalpel above the eyeball and cut out a snotty deposit of fatty tissue. The routine eye-lift was nearly complete when suddenly the patient awoke, suffocating, and began to flop about on the table. The audience gasped. Knowing time was of the essence, the surgeon scooped up the patient in his arms, raced across the stage, and dropped her into a tank of water. She revived. Because she was a fish. Yes, fish eye-lifts exist. As do fin jobs and tail tucks. The operating theater was a mall in Jakarta, Indonesia, where a pet expo was under way. As for the patient, she survived, her formerly droopy eyes now bright and perky. A good thing, too, as this was no ordinary goldfish but rather an Asian arowana, the world's most expensive aquarium denizen, rumored to sell for as mu...
Read more

Catching Dory: selling aquarium fish supports coastal livelihoods in Indonesia | npj Ocean Sustainability - Nature.com

Image
Abstract The global marine aquarium trade has created new local markets across the planet, including in Indonesia, now the second-largest exporting country of marine aquarium fish in the world. Participating in the global aquarium trade has been touted as a potentially sustainable addition to fisher livelihoods, but scant data exist showing the numbers of fish coming off the reef and how those fish contribute to income. To determine how participants in the trade incorporate aquarium species in their livelihoods, we examine source-level aquarium fish collecting and trading data in the Banggai Archipelago, a region in Central Sulawesi that has become a significant source for popular aquarium, also known as ornamental, fish species. Using a sustainable livelihoods lens, we examine this data to understand how participants in the aquarium trade both contribute to as well as benefit from the trade and consider how their participation relates to emerging Blue Justice principles. From one year...
Read more

NilocG Launches New Website for the Only All-in-One Thrive Fertilization Solution for Planted Aquariums - PRNewswire

Image
NilocG Launches New Website for the Only All-in-One Thrive Fertilization Solution for Planted Aquariums - PRNewswire NilocG Launches New Website for the Only All-in-One Thrive Fertilization Solution for Planted Aquariums - PRNewswire Posted: 11 Mar 2021 02:00 AM PST ALBANY, Ore. , March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NilocG launches a new website for planted tank enthusiasts to gather and make THRIVE, a plant fertilizer that assures planted tank aquascapes flourish while eliminating the need for multiple products more readily available online. The company also takes it a step further in the industry, making its flagship product easy to dose, super-concentrated, and an all-in-one solution based on an effective EL dosing method with all essential micro and macronutrients. Continue Reading Thrive fertilizer: North America's most trusted aquarium plant fertilizer Colin Grice , CEO, a self-described planted tank lover, re...
Read more