Underwater Hunger Artist: Giant Isopod Fasts For 4 Years

From Japan comes news of a giant isopod that knows all there is to know about the hunger game. How else to explain the fasting behavior of the animal that, his minders say, hasn't eaten in more than 1,500 days? The male giant isopod, known simply as No. 1, last ate on Jan. 2, 2009 — or, to put it in perspective, 18 days before President Obama began his first term.

The giant isopod's last meal at the Toba Aquarium, reports Japan Times, was a horse mackerel, which it devoured in just five minutes.

But that was four years ago. Since then, No. 1 has only pretended to eat — going so far as to rub its face on dead fish before walking away, according to reports. The aquarium's Takaya Moritaki says he has tried everything he can think of to get the finicky giant isopod, which was caught in the Gulf of Mexico, to eat.

"I just want it to eat something somehow. It's weakened in this state," he tells the Japan Daily Press. He recently invited the media to witness the giant isopod's hunger strike, as it spurned several pieces of fish. The mysterious behavior has not taken an obvious toll on No. 1, which has reportedly remained healthy during its long period of abstaining.

More:  http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/02/25/172909365/underwater-hunger-artist-giant-isopod-fasts-for-4-years