While there are so many people who find penguins absolutely adorable, given the right circumstances, few of us would dare to keep them as pets. However, once the opportunity arose, this Japanese family didn’t shy away from keeping one in their home, making it probably one of the most peculiar pets people have ever seen. In fact, it was so rare back in the day, that journalists from around the world were trying to get in touch with the family and interview them. In the ’90s, Real TV managed to make a short documentary about the penguin in question, who is named Lala and lives in a small Japanese village.

Meet Lala – an adorable King penguin who was living for years with a Japanese family

The documentary was made in 1996 when Lala was around 10 years old. Back in the day, Lala the King penguin spent his days living in an air-conditioned room and roamed around the streets of his town.

After the family took him to the market for the first time, Lala kept going back. So the family made a decision to put a tiny backpack on him and taught Lala to get fish from the market on his own.

Clearly, it must have been quite a sight for villagers seeing the penguin wandering around with his tiny backpack!

You may be wondering how this family even came across Lala.

Well, apparently, the poor penguin was caught and injured in a fishing net. The family took Lala in and nurtured him back to health.

By that time, the penguin had gotten too attached to the family and didn’t want to leave them, so the decision was made to keep him and to make sure he would have a comfortable life in conditions that are unusual to penguins. Sadly, Lala has already passed away but the memory of him is still alive today.

Watch the video below