Tokyo aquarium’s shy eels withdraw with visitors gone; aquarium organizes mass FaceTime for them

Garden eels at Japan's Sumida Aquarium, closed since March due to the Covid-19 outbreak, have become wary of humans and hide in the sand whenever keepers pass by. This makes it hard to check on their health.(Sumida Aquarium / Facebook)

A Tokyo aquarium has made an appeal for its eels.

The Sumida Aquarium’s reserved ray-finned fish have withdrawn in the absence of the usual drumbeat of visitors, so directors of the marine exhibit on Tuesday asked people to FaceTime in an organized call.

The temporarily shuttered aquarium said that it hopes a little face-to-face will stop the eels’ habit of hiding during the coronavirus crisis. Staffers find it harder to check in on their slithering creatures if they can’t see them.

The aquarium closed its doors March 1 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. About 300 eels live at the aquarium.

The FaceTime festival is planned to take place from Sunday to Tuesday.