Everyone is perplexed by the diver’s unusual connection with the fish, as opposed to the more common relationships humans form with puppies, cats, or farm animals. And if that wasn’t crazy enough, these two oddball friends have been close for almost 25 years.

It all began a long time ago when the Japanese diver was given the responsibility of keeping watch over a Shinto shrine. But as it lies below the surface of Tateyama Bay, this “torii” wasn’t like any other. Because of its spiritual significance, the guy had to dive periodically to assess the situation. The man eventually knew even the extinct sea animals because he had been doing so for so long, especially a wrasse fish he had such a beautiful connection with.

Although it may sound strange, the two pals get on exceptionally well. And despite the absurdity of a relationship between a person and a fish, science reportedly has a theory to explain it. It was discovered that fish could recognize human faces.

The fish were shown two pictures of human faces by experts, who then taught them to pick one by spitting at a certain image. The head forms were then evened out, and the images were converted to black and white. The dish did not become confused by it.  They correctly identified the recognizable face 86% of the time.

Learn more about this peculiar friendship here: