In fact, it was so uncommon back then that reporters from all around the world were attempting to contact the family and interview them. Real TV was able to produce a brief documentary on the concerned penguin, Lala, who resides in a small Japanese community, in the 1990s.
Meet Lala, a kind King penguin that spent years living with a Japanese family.
Lala was about 10 years old when the documentary was produced in 1996. The King penguin used to spend his days wandering the streets of his town while residing in an air-conditioned room.
Lala kept returning to the market after the family took him there for the first time. The family then decided to equip him with a little backpack and train Lala to purchase fish on his own.
It’s obvious that seeing the penguin going around with his tiny bag must have been quite a sight for the villagers! Maybe you’re wondering how this family even found Lala.
Evidently, a fishing net caught and injured the unfortunate penguin. The family adopted the penguin and cared for him as he recovered.
The decision was made to keep the penguin and to ensure that he would have a nice existence in circumstances that are unusual for penguins. At that point, the penguin had grown too connected to the family and didn’t want to leave them. Lala, regrettably, is no longer with us, but his memory lives on.