It turns out they do this too in places where they keep dolphins in captivity. Like with theme parks that do shows with them. Most likely to calm them down and so they can keep them in smaller places backstage when there are no shows going on.
I see you and me are looking for a similar phone. I want to be able to comfortably hold and use it with one hand.
As someone else mentioned Unihertz makes some smaller phones that aren't limited in specs but some may be too small for my tastes. I am still looking to see what would be a good size since I want to be able to type on it with some comfort.
The reviews of the Jelly series seem to conveniently leave out how it is to type on.
I would like that size but I need to be able to type a casual whatsapp message every once in a while or add an appointment to my calendar.
I am considering buying something cheap and (relatively) small from AliExpress to see how that works and if it's a size I like. I'd hate to spend Unihertz prices only to find out it's too small for me.
Out of all those I only use WhatsApp, Lemmy and an Internet Browser. I guess a real dumb phone is out of the question for me. Though I could do with something smaller (not too small) and cheaper.