For The Love Of God, Please FaceTime These Lonely Eels In A Japanese Aquarium

eel facetime

An aquarium in Japan is urging people to FaceTime their sensitive-but-lonely eels, so what are you waiting for? Go on! Do it!

The Sumida Aquarium in Tokyo’s iconic Skytree tower has been closed since the start of March, which means the animals, who usually see thousands of people per day, have had a lonely couple of months.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to keep budding tourists out of the usually-popular aquarium, they had to take to Twitter to ask for a helping hand.

“Creatures in the aquarium don’t see humans except keepers and they have started forgetting about humans,” the aquarium said on Twitter this week.”Garden eels in particular disappear into the sand and hide every time the keepers pass by.”

“Let us make an emergency plea,” the tweet continued, according to Yahoo News translation. “Could you show your face to our garden eels from your home?”

The aquarium has dubbed it a “face-showing festival,” in an effort to re-familiarise their eels with humans.

Basically, they’ve set up five tablets facing towards the eels’ tank, which people can connect to their iPhones and iPads and FaceTime these adorable creatures.

Due to their sensitive souls, the aquarium has asked people not to shout or talk loudly at the creatures, instead waving, smiling and talking calmly at them.

The species in question, the spotted garden eel, is particularly sensitive in nature, usually hiding in the sand when approached by other animals. However, the aquarium’s animals have become quite desensitised due to the daily crowds, and rarely burrowed into the sand when approached by tourists at the attraction.

Unfortunately, the extended period without visitors has led to an increase in sensitivity and wariness from the creatures, but with a little help from the iPhone-wielding public, they will be confident again in no time.

The face-showing festival takes place between May 3 and May 5, during Japan’s popular Golden Week holiday period. This is usually a popular time for tourists, so why not go on your own touristy adventure from the comfort of your couch?

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