Inflation making penguins in Japan unhappy with aquarium’s switch to cheaper fish

Japan is a country that’s particular about seafood, and apparently its penguins are too.

Japan has historically had very low inflation rates, but things are different these days. Over the past few months hardly a week goes by without a restaurant, store, or manufacturer announcing that it’s raising its prices, and that’s now not only affecting household budgets, but penguins’ eating habits as well.

Among the residents of Kanagawa Prefecture’s Hakone-en Aquarium are a group of penguins, who are quite fond of horse mackerel, or “aji,” as the fish is called in Japanese. Unfortunately, prices for aji have risen by 30 percent, and due to budgetary concerns the aquarium has begun mixing saba, a lower-priced mackerel of the Scombridae family (aji are part of the Carangidae family) into the penguin’s feed.

Some of the penguins aren’t happy with this change, though.

As seen in the video above, a number of the penguins are showing no interest in saba, disdainfully turning their heads away when a caretaker offers them one of the less-expensive fish. Saba is proving to be a divisive dining option among the aquarium’s otters as well, some of whom are also passing on it when offered a piece.

That’s not to say the saba is universally reviled, as some of the penguins and otters are willing to eat it, and even for those that aren’t, thankfully the majority of their feed is still made up of the aji they prefer, with saba accounting for 30 to 40 percent of the mix, according to the aquarium.

Source: Tele Asa News via Hachima Kiko
Top image: Pakutaso
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