Penguins and otters at a Japanese aquarium are dealing with the effects of inflation and are rejecting the new cheaper food offered by zookeepers after a big price hike.
As part of its drive to cut costs, the Hakone Aquarium in central Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, has eliminated some of its traditional and more expensive foods, such as horse mackerel, in favor of cheaper mackerel.
But this change to the menu was not welcomed by all with some of the penguins turning up their beaks in disgust when it was time to eat.
“At first they take it in their mouths, but then they decide they don’t like it and throw it away,” aquarium manager Hiroki Shimamoto told AFP.
He speculates that the maladaptive penguins may have taken issue with the larger-than-usual size of their new meals.
“They sense that something is wrong,” he notes.
The problem is even more acute with the aquarium’s otters, who rejected the cheaper fish in droves, Shimamoto points out.
Aquarium officials said they made the decision to change the menu after prices for the saffron rose within a year by 20 to 30 percent, partly because of poor fishing.
The aquarium still buys smolts for feed, but has no plans to switch back to them exclusively unless prices drop, Shimamoto concludes.
“It all depends on when things get back to normal.”
Source: RES-MPE
Source: Capital
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