Talk about happy feet.
A group of rockhopper penguins got to take one adorable field trip after the Shedd Aquarium in
Chicago was closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Thanks to the lack of visitors — who will not be allowed back in the aquarium until March 29 — the curious birds had the chance to waddle out of their habitat and explore the rest of the exhibits just like a human would.
On Sunday, the aquarium posted a video of one penguin named Wellington who, with his flippers stretched wide, seemed very enticed by some fish in the
Amazon exhibit.Penguins in the Amazon?! đ§đ´Some of the penguins went on a field trip to meet other animals at Shedd. Wellington seemed most interested in the fishes in Amazon Rising! The black-barred silver dollars also seemed interested in their unusual visitor. pic.twitter.com/KgYWsp5VQD— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) March 15, 2020“Without guests in the building, caretakers are getting creative in how they provide enrichment to animals,” the aquarium told the Chicago Tribune, “introducing new experiences, activities, foods and more to keep them active, encourage them to explore, problem-solve and express natural behaviours.”
People on
Twitter seriously appreciated the feel-good content during our human health crisis.This is fantastic for Wellington! He looks like he had an awesome day. Love that he looks like he's experiencing sensory overload. And the fish look excited to see him, too. Multi-species enrichment activity. We need daily "Wellington's Adventures at the Shedd" updates! :-)— Art Excursions (@ArtExcursions) March 16, 2020Ahhh omg I really needed that right now!— rey (@reytheist) March 16, 2020Please let the octopuses go on an adventure next!— zac (at least i think) (@pr0zac) March 15, 2020With many people self-isolating due to Covid-19, let’s hope the aquarium continues to krill, er, quell our boredom with more quality animal content.
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