An agricultural park and zoo located in Minami Awaji City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 淡路ファームパーク イングランドの丘 Awaji Farm Park England Hill (@englandhill_zoo) is home to six koalas.

9-year-old male koala だいちくん Daichi-kun really enjoys the care he gets from the keeper assigned to him.

Koalas usually live in trees, but when his keeper arrives, Daichi-kun climbs down from the tree and waits at the entrance.

This seems to be a popular snapshot opportunity for visitors who are charmed by the way he looks when he waits like this. Some people have even likened him to a zealous fan of a celebrity entertainer or athlete waiting outside the venue for a chance to see their idol.

However, a recent photo posted by his keeper on Awaji Farm Park England Hill's Twitter account showed Daichi-kun in a decidedly different pose than usual.

Reproduced with permission from 淡路ファームパーク イングランドの丘 Awaji Farm Park England Hill (@englandhill_zoo)

Daichi-kun is sitting in front of the door with his back straight and with a serious pose.

His expression as he gazes off into the distance is so dignified that it makes one wonder if he feels like he has an important mission to carry out.

Among the numerous comments the photos elicited, some likened his pose to that of a Zen monk who had reached enlightenment. Some of the other comments were:

  • "His posture and gaze are too austere. I wanted to give him a can of coffee."
  • "I laughed because of his pose. I think there is definitely a human inside..."
  • "There are men who look like this in the sauna, aren't there?"

If he had indeed reached satori, one wonders what kind of koan he used to attain it, or maybe in this case, it was a koa(l)an...


By - grape Japan editorial staff.