”Hey! Over here!”

Some beginning learners of Japanese have a hard time keeping the meaning of kawaii and kawaisou separate. While they might sound similar, the former means “It’s cute,” whereas the latter means “I feel sorry for it.”

On this occasion, though, it seems like either term would be appropriate.

https://twitter.com/ton_komezuki/status/751725841189527553

Japanese Twitter user @ton_komezuki recently visited the Mori Kirara Zoo in Nagasaki Prefecture’s city of Sasebo. While there, he stopped by the raccoon habitat, where he noticed this adorable little guy, named Karu, standing up on his hind legs and raising a paw as if to announce “Hey, everybody, over here!”

The seven-year-old male wasn’t just looking for attention, though, but for some snacks, too. Visitors to the zoo can purchase treats which they can toss to the raccoons, and by posing like a wide open receiver in the end zone, Karu figures he can increase his chance of scoring some munchies.

It’s almost a perfect plan. Almost.

https://twitter.com/ton_komezuki/status/751728266545762305

As the video shows, while Karu’s stance is great for catching visitors’ eyes, it’s less optimally suited to catching snacks. As an ordinarily non-bipedal critter, standing on his hind legs limits his quickness and agility, and even with @ton_komezuki specifically targeting Karu, the food tossed his way got quickly snatched up by his fellow raccoons who stuck with more orthodox movements.

https://twitter.com/ton_komezuki/status/751735746680074240

Still, Karu is a trooper, and each time someone snags his snacks, he calmly strikes his pose again and waits for his next chance.

Thankfully, Karu appears to be well-fed, so it looks like the zookeepers are doing a good job of providing their charges with regular non-competitive meals. The Mori Kirara staff says he’s been putting on his little show since 2014, so the ploy must work to his advantage sometimes. Maybe he was just having off day when these videos were recorded.

Zoo information
Mori Kirara / 森きらら
Address: Nagasaki-ken, Sasebo-shi, Funakoshi-cho 2172
長崎県佐世保市船越町２１７２
Open 9 a.m.-5:15 p.m.
Admission: 820 yen (adults), 210 yen (children)
Website

Source: IT Media, Twitter/@ton_komezuki

Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’s now wishing someone would toss some snacks at him too.