The sharks at Cairns Aquarium were feeling lonely and a human had to be recruited...

An unusual situation occurred at Australia’s first public aquarium. The sharks and other fish there were feeling lonely and, as a result of their deteriorated mood, did not want to eat. So the Cairns Aquarium authorities were forced to hire a full-time diver… to cuddle and entertain the sharks.

I will point out straight away that this is not an Australian April Fool’s Day. It is simply that the inhabitants of an Australian aquarium were also affected by a coronavirus pandemic. They were all surprised, however, when it turned out that the loneliness began to bother them to such an extent that, without any human interaction, they even stopped eating.

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Fortunately, the situation was brought under control. A full-time shark hugger arrived on the scene to cater for the affection deficit that these magnificent predators require. Now, if any animal shows signs of being depressed and stops eating, the diver interacts with it and after playing together, the animal’s mood improves visibly and its appetite returns to normal.

It turns out that people visiting the aquarium and looking into the tanks were quite an attraction for the inhabitants, including sharks, rays and wrasses. Therefore, when the building was closed to visitors, the animals were immediately affected and additional staff had to be employed to keep them company.

“We have leopard sharks here who like to be held and cuddled almost like puppies! We usually have two divers, but now another was needed to increase the amount of interaction just so we could create extra stimulation for the animals.” – said Daniel Leipnik, Executive Director of Cairns Aquarium.

When the aquarium was closed, some of the fish stopped eating and started hiding in dark corners of their tanks. This unexpected change was particularly felt by a grouper named Chang, which the staff describe as an extremely inquisitive fish with a strong personality that likes to observe people. The appearance of divers in his tank is a signal to momentarily come and have a good look at them, and sometimes accompany them in their daily activities. The deficit of human interaction put him in a state where he was visibly puffed up and this lasted for one to two weeks. During this time the curious grouper also stopped eating.

As the reopening of the facility is fast approaching, staff have started dining near the tanks to get Cairns Aquarium residents used to the crowds. Personal stresses that he hopes this unusual lesson will help people better understand the intelligence and unusual, sensitive nature of fish.

^{Source: cairnsaquarium.com.au}