Eels are about to forget their faces, Japanese aquariums call guests for video calls

Due to the lack of tourists, the garden eels at the Japanese aquarium have begun to forget about human presence and become sensitive.

When the eels garden in an aquarium in Tokyo lift their heads up from the sand, they are often stared at by the eyes of the visitors.

But like other animals in the world, eel habitat in Sumida Aquarium, Tokyo is affected by the Covid-19 epidemic.

These fish seem to forget what humans look like because the aquarium has been closed since March.

'They don't see people, except the caretakers, and they've started to forget humans,' the aquarium wrote on Twitter this week.

Picture 1 of Eels are about to forget their faces, Japanese aquariums call guests for video calls
Garden eels in Tokyo are gradually forgetting the existence of humans. (Photo: Getty).

'Garden eels disappear in the sand and hide when caregivers pass by , ' the aquarium said, saying the overly sensitive nature of garden eels is making it difficult to monitor their health.

Worried that they would see visitors as a threat, the Sumida Aquarium created an event called 'face-to-face festival'.

'This is an urgent request,' the aquarium called. 'Can you show your garden eels from afar?'

To help the eels connect with the visitors, the aquarium is placing 5 tablets facing the aquarium and ask visitors to connect via iPhone or iPad via the FaceTime app.

Participants must show their faces, wave their hands and talk to garden eels but not raise their voices.

The festival will take place on May 3-5, at the peak of the Golden Week holiday. Normally, many Japanese people will travel on this occasion. However, since Japan declared a state of emergency against Covid-19, the majority of Japanese people would stay home.

The aquarium's request has garnered much support with the keyword #BeautifulMany people in Japanese.