A Japanese aquarium is appealing for people to video chat with their eels whilst the coronavirus lockdown is going on, because - apparently - the eels are forgetting that humans even exist.
To be fair, they have got the brains of a fish, and eels - last time I checked - aren't exactly supposed to know about the existence of people.
However, the garden eels at the Sumida Aquarium in Tokyo are used to seeing the staring eyes of human visitors when they pop their heads out of the sand.
Like a lot of animals, and people too, the eels lives have been changed drastically as a result of the ongoing pandemic, and it's making their lives a misery.
You see, the eels could start to see humans as a threat if they forget about the completely, meaning that their lives would be changed for the worse.
That's why the aquarium has asked people to e-visit the creatures as part of a 'face showing event'.
The aquarium, which is situated inside the Tokyo Skytree - Japan's tallest structure - has been shut down since March, and the animals have now started to adjust to their new way of life.
They reckon that this 'unprecedented situation' has put the animals into an unusual and unhappy state.
On Twitter, they wrote: "They don't see humans, except keepers, and they have started forgetting about humans,
"Garden eels in particular disappear into the sand and hide every time the keepers pass by."
It's also making the aforementioned keepers' lives problematic, too. If they can't see the eels, they can't check their health. If they can't do that, we could see them floating at the top of the tank before too long.
The aquarium continued: "Here is an urgent request.
"Could you show your face to our garden eels from your home?"
I mean, there are urgent requests, and then there are 'urgent requests'.
In order to help the inquisitive eels keep their memories of humans, they've set up five tablets facing the tank that users can connect to via FaceTime on their iPhone or iPad.
Users are asked to show their faces, but also talk and waves at the eels. However, they've asked that people don't raise their voices. That'll just scare the poor things.
The 'festival' is set to take place during Japan's Golden Week holiday from May 3 to May 5, with many holidaymakers who would otherwise travel stuck at home.
Hey, if you can't travel to see your family for a public holiday, why not spend the day staring at some eels instead?
We all have to make sacrifices in these difficult times.
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