Animals do weird things. We try to map human emotions onto them, call it anthropomorphism, and move on. But sometimes, a story comes along that makes you question if we actually understand a lick of animal psychology. I'm talking about Grape-kun. If you haven't heard of him, he was the Humboldt penguin who loved me—or rather, he loved a cardboard cutout of an anime character named Hululu. This wasn't some fleeting curiosity. This was a full-blown, multi-year commitment that captured the world's attention and turned a quiet zoo in Japan into a pilgrimage site for the internet.
It started at the Tobu Zoo in Miyashiro, Saitama Prefecture. Grape-kun wasn't some young, energetic bird looking for a spark. He was an old man in penguin years. Born in 1996 at the Hamura Zoo, he had already lived a full life. By the time he moved to Tobu, he had a "wife," a female penguin named Midori. They were a pair for a decade. Then, Midori dumped him for a younger penguin. Nature is brutal. Truly. Imagine being twenty years old, a senior citizen in the penguin world, and getting left for a flashy newcomer. Grape-kun became a social pariah in his own colony. He withdrew. He stopped hanging out with the other Humboldts.
Then came the marketing campaign.
Why Grape-kun Chose an Anime Girl Over His Own Kind
In 2017, Tobu Zoo partnered with the hit anime Kemono Friends. The show features "Friends," which are basically anthropomorphized animals. To promote the collaboration, the zoo placed 60 cardboard cutouts of these characters throughout the enclosures. In the penguin habitat, they placed Hululu, a Humboldt penguin girl.
Most animals ignored the signs. Some maybe pecked at them once or twice. Not Grape-kun.
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He was obsessed. He spent hours—literal hours—staring up at this piece of cardboard. He’d stand there with his wings outstretched and his beak pointed upward, a classic penguin courtship display. It was heartbreaking and fascinating all at once. People started posting photos on Twitter (now X). The story went nuclear. Why did the penguin who loved me—the character Hululu, that is—become his entire world? Experts like those from the Global Penguin Society often discuss how social isolation in colonial birds can lead to "abnormal" fixation. Grape-kun was lonely. He found a companion that didn't judge him, didn't leave him for a younger bird, and was perpetually "there."
The Devotion of a Senior Penguin
He would skip meals. This part gets a bit serious. The zookeepers actually had to remove him from the enclosure at times just to make sure he would eat, because he refused to leave Hululu's side. If they took the cutout away for cleaning or because of a storm, he’d become visibly distressed.
It wasn't just a meme. It was a study in grief and redirected affection.
The internet, being what it is, didn't just laugh. They embraced him. Fan art flooded in. People flew from other countries just to see an old penguin staring at a board. Even the voice actress for Hululu, Ikuko Chikuta, visited the zoo to meet her most dedicated fan. She stood there, and Grape-kun was right there next to the cutout, basically ignoring the real human woman in favor of the two-dimensional one. You have to respect the loyalty.
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The Science Behind the Obsession
Is it possible he actually "loved" her? Probably not in the way we think of romantic love. But penguins are highly visual creatures. The Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) relies heavily on visual cues for mate recognition. The cutout had the right colors. It had the right "vibe." For a bird that had been rejected by his colony, the static nature of the cutout provided a weird kind of stability.
Zookeepers noted that Grape-kun’s health actually seemed to stabilize for a while during this period. He had a reason to get up in the morning. Even if that reason was a piece of weather-resistant corrugated plastic.
- Social Isolation: His rejection by Midori left a psychological vacuum.
- Visual Imprinting: The character's design mimicked penguin-like features.
- Consistent Presence: Unlike other penguins, the cutout never moved or fought back.
The zoo staff was incredibly kind about it. They didn't mock him. They didn't take the cutout down after the promotion ended. They saw that it mattered to him. Honestly, that's the most "human" part of the whole story—the humans recognizing a bird's emotional need and letting him have his cardboard girlfriend.
The End of an Era at Tobu Zoo
Grape-kun passed away in October 2017. He was 21 years old. In the wild, Humboldts usually live about 15 to 20 years, so he was a tough old bird. When his health began to decline, the zoo staff did something that still brings a tear to my eye: they moved the Hululu cutout into his medical enclosure. He wasn't alone when he died. He was with her.
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The announcement of his death reached millions. The zoo set up a small shrine. Thousands of flowers were delivered. It wasn't just about a penguin. It was about the universal feeling of being an outsider and finding comfort wherever you can get it.
What We Can Learn from Grape-kun
The story of the penguin who loved me—this strange, cross-media romance—actually taught us a lot about animal enrichment. Zoos now look more closely at how visual stimuli and even "non-natural" objects can help animals coping with social trauma. It’s not just about giving them a ball to play with; it’s about understanding their social standing within a group.
If you’re a pet owner or just someone interested in animal welfare, Grape-kun's life offers some pretty interesting takeaways. Animals have complex emotional lives. Rejection hurts them. Social dynamics in a group are as cutthroat as a middle school cafeteria. When those dynamics fail, we have to find creative ways to provide "psychological" enrichment.
Practical Steps for Understanding Your Own Pets
You don't need to put an anime cutout in your dog's crate, but you should pay attention to their social cues.
- Watch for Withdrawal: If a social animal (like a bird, dog, or even a cat) stops interacting with their peers, don't just assume they're "grumpy." Look for underlying health issues or social stressors.
- Visual Enrichment: Some animals respond incredibly well to mirrors or specific shapes. If your pet seems lonely, sometimes a specific toy or a "comfort object" can actually lower their cortisol levels.
- Respect the Bond: If your pet has a weird obsession with a specific shoe or a stuffed toy, don't just take it away because it’s "weird." If it’s not hurting them, it might be their version of Hululu.
- Acknowledge Senior Needs: Older animals need more emotional support. Grape-kun was a senior, and his needs were different from the younger, more aggressive penguins in the colony.
Grape-kun wasn't a "meme" to the people who took care of him. He was a bird that found a way to survive heartbreak. He reminded us that the world is a little bit weirder and a lot more empathetic than we give it credit for. If you ever find yourself in Saitama, stop by Tobu Zoo. There’s a small monument there. It’s a reminder of a penguin who, against all logic, chose to spend his final days in the company of an anime girl. And honestly? There are worse ways to go.
To really honor his memory, support penguin conservation efforts. The Humboldt penguin is currently listed as "Vulnerable" by the IUCN. Organizations like the Pinguinera are working to protect their nesting sites in Chile and Peru. Because while cardboard cutouts are great, keeping the real ones alive and well in the wild is the real goal.