(CNN) — An aquarium employee is waving mackerel near a penguin, but there is no response. As she brings the fish closer to her beak, the penguins proudly turn her back. Otters sniff fish and run away.
Previously, aquariums offered penguin and otter "horse mackerel," or horse mackerel that animals could eat immediately.
However, the aquarium, home to 32,000 animals, including sharks and seals, was unaffected by the economic predicament that plagues many global economies. According to the aquarium, the price of horse mackerel has risen by 20% to 30% from last year.
Employees of the Hakone-en Aquarium in Japan tried to seduce penguins with mackerel, but with little success.
TV Asahi
In May, the aquarium switched to a cheaper alternative, "mackerel" or mackerel, to reduce costs.
Aquarium workers have a bad reputation because they have to be creative to encourage animals to eat. For example, otters and penguins appear to be more willing to eat mackerel when mixed. With their favorite horse mackerel.
"Ideally, they want to eat full horse mackerel, but they patiently eat mackerel," said aquarium keeper Hiroki Shimamoto on CNN-affiliated TV Asahi. Told.
Aquariums are also reducing costs by reducing the number of circulation pumps from two to one and reducing electricity bills by 40% to 50%.
"We can raise the entrance fee to the aquarium to solve this problem, but we would like to do our best to ensure that guests can visit the facility comfortably. We have no plans to raise the admission fee. "
According to the aquarium, penguins and otters have their favorite species of fish, and the aquarium is doing its best to meet their needs.
"All the animals in the aquarium are families and we do our best to stay healthy." "We never feed animals what we don't want to eat. We want as many people as possible to visit and enjoy Hakone."
