Lockdown Fatigue: Fish species in Australian aquarium exhibit signs of depression

With many countries around the world still under lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, people are getting tired of staying at home for weeks at stretch. However, it's not just people but also schools of fish in Australia experiencing lockdown fatigue and longing for some real human interaction. A marine biologist with Queensland's Cairns Aquarium told an international media portal that a number of fish at the facility have become lethargic since the place closed to the public due to COVID-19 pandemic. As per reports, some fish at the aquarium are showing signs of depression, with some even refusing to eat and hiding in dark corners of the tank. The marine biologist added that while people may not realise it, animals can see outside the tank and take enjoy interacting with visitors. Read: What Is Zoom Fatigue? What Are Some Useful Steps To Combat It? View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cairns Aquarium (@cairns_aquarium) on Feb 27, 2020 at 8:49pm PST Read: Bizarre! People In Spain Walk Fish In Bowl, Hen, Plastic Dog To Step Out Amid Lockdown With the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in place, the aquarium's crowd favourite 'Chang' - a huge Queensland grouper - is reported to be particularly affected by the absence of humans and seem disinterested in its environment. While the aquarium staff is feeding the fish and cleaning their tanks, the reduced operations crew is not enough to cheer the marine animals. Fish have feelings A lot of scientific studies in the past have elucidated on the emotional capacity of various fish species. In a study published in 2017, Portuguese researchers observed that fish have a range of emotions that are triggered by their environment. In another previous study, fish were noted to have impressive learning capacity and capable of showing a whole range of sophisticated behaviours. Read: Jellyfish Swims Through Clean Waters Of Venice Canal Amid Lockdown; Watch Read: 'Living In 3020': Australian Man Catches Fish Using Drone From Balcony, Netizens Awestruck

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Lockdown Fatigue: Fish species in Australian aquarium exhibit signs of depression

With the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in place, some fish at Queensland's Cairns Aquarium are refusing to eat and seem affected by the absence of visitors.

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