The whole world is affected by inflation, and it seems that the effect has trickled down to other species apart from humans.
ANN News recently reported that the sea creatures at Hakone-en aquarium have been rejecting the cheaper mackerel being fed to them.
Due to inflation, the zoo has been cutting costs by replacing their previous, more expensive horse mackerel, with a more affordable version.
The penguins can be seen turning their beaks up and away when the mackerel is being offered to them.
“They take it into their mouths at first, but then they decide they don’t like it and drop it,” aquarium head Hiroki Shimamoto told AFP.
Shimamoto believes that the penguins have taken issue with the size of their new meals, which are bigger than their standard fare.
“They sense something is off,” he added.
The problem also extends to the aquarium’s otters, who have also rejected the cheaper fish, said Shimamoto.
According to CNN, the facility switched after horse mackerel prices rocketed up about 20% to 30% from last year because of low catches.
The aquarium is still purchasing some horse mackerel for its feed but has no plans to revert entirely until prices fall, Shimamoto said.
“It all depends on when things get back to normal.”
“All animals at the aquarium are family, and we do our best to keep them healthy. We would never force any animal to eat what they don’t want. We would like to have as many people (as possible) come and visit Hakone-en and enjoy our animals,” he said.
Watch the full video here.
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