Hi guys. How do you feel about pets and which ones do you personally prefer? Let me guess, most of you will either say cats or dogs. What if I tell you that one family had a Penguin for a pet? Moreover, a King Penguin.
Are you surprised? You will be even more astonished when you find out how proud this aquatic bird used to spend its days. Trust me, at one point it managed to win the hearts of many people around the world. Meet Lala, an unusually intelligent, resourceful, and adorable King Penguin that lived in a Japanese family for many years. Let me remind you that King Penguins belong to the family of aquatic flightless birds.
Representatives of this species are brightly colored and can grow up to 130 CM in height. They inhabit Tierra del Fuego, some sub-Antarctic Islands in the South Atlantic and the Indian Oceans, and as it turned out, they can also live in Japanese families. The Penguin from our story even became a full-fledged member of the family. The world first heard about Lala back in 1996, when he was ten years old. To be more specific, all the popular media of that time talked about the bird, and a documentary was even made about him.
You must be wondering, how did Lala get so famous? You’ll get your answer in a little bit. It all started when an ordinary village fisherman, Xin Liu, went fishing and discovered an unusual catch in his net. A young Penguin got entangled in the net and couldn’t get out on his own. But when the man decided to help him, he saw that the bird was wounded.
It wasn’t clear how he got hurt. Perhaps he had encountered a predator, or maybe there had been another reason. But in any case, the man couldn’t let the poor thing back into the ocean. So he decided to take the Penguin home until he gets back on his feet. It should be noted that the wounds on the Penguin’s body took a long time to heal, and living with the family, the Penguin slowly began to get domesticated.
Of course, the children were delighted to have a real King Penguin at home. They even gave him a nickname, Lala. After several months, when the bird fully recovered, Shin Liu took him to the shore to release him back into the wild. But to his great surprise, Lala wouldn’t leave the man’s side. When he set off to go home, the bird trudged behind with his small legs, trying to catch up.
Sin Liu certainly didn’t expect this kind of behavior and tried to show him the way back to the ocean over and over again, failing each time. The bird tried to demonstrate his willingness to return home in every possible way. As if saying, Enough walking around time to go back. No matter how hard the man tried to set the Penguin free, he didn’t want to return to the ocean. From that moment on, Lala officially began to live with the family.
Over time, the Penguin even started going out into the yard to hang out with other animals. But the most curious thing happened a few days later. Once, when I was going to the market, Lala refused to stay home alone. I had no choice but to take him with me. It wasn’t far away, and I knew that the Penguin could walk that distance.
When we reached the market, a stall with fresh fish caught Lala’s attention. How could it not Penguins love to fish? I bought him some of his favorite fish and we went home, Shin Liu recalled. It didn’t seem unusual at the time, but the very next day, Lala was stomping near the door, ready to go outside. When Shin Lee opened the door, the Penguin started walking briskly towards the market.
Imagine the man’s surprise when Lala stopped near that very stall with the delicious fish. From that day on, the King Penguin started to go to the market on his own to get his favorite treat. Xin Liu’s wife even made a special backpack for Lala. They used to put money into it before the Penguin went to the market. The fishmonger would then take it out and put in the Penguin’s treats.
We were delighted that Lala went shopping himself. It never failed to amaze our neighbors that we have such a smart and unusual pet. After all, it’s not something you see every day a Penguin with a backpack going shopping for fish, Xin Liu said, smiling. The Penguin walking down the street got everyone’s attention. When the reporters came to the small Japanese village, they couldn’t believe their eyes.
Many of them expected to see a mindless animal that only eats and follows its instincts, but they were amazed at what they saw. In addition to the fact that the King Penguin was living an ordinary life alongside people, he also helped around the house. However, the strangest thing was that Lola walked confidently to the market and even knew two routes to get there. Moreover, he walked with such confidence, flapping his wings and looking around as if greeting other people and animals that he looked just like a mischievous boy running home from school. Everyone at the market already knew the peculiar customer, and even the local dogs looked at Lala with surprise, avoiding him just in case, as he was a strange sight even for the dogs.
It’s also worth saying that Lala enjoyed living among people. Over time, he learned more routes, and in addition to visiting the market, he started roaming the streets of the small village. Like any other resident, the Japanese family had to try hard to make life comfortable for the King Penguin. Lala had his room at home with a special microclimate so that the air was cool enough for him. The family members strictly monitored the room temperature and adjusted it with the help of an air conditioner to provide the aquatic bird with maximum comfort.
To think of it, not every animal can be trained or domesticated. Still, many of the fauna representatives can surprise us. As this story shows, even the King Penguin can become a real friend for a human and live in the same house with them. Unfortunately, no one lives forever and Lala is long gone. Nonetheless, the memory of this amazing and unusual Penguin will last for a long time.
The locals remember the funny Penguin and his habits with warmth in their voices. They were so lucky to see it all with their own eyes. Otherwise, they would have never believed it. Lala will live in their hearts forever. That’s the end of the story, guys.
And it proves that animals are much smarter than we can even imagine. If you were to meet such a peculiar pedestrian on the street, would you treat them to some fish? Be sure to write about it in the comments.
