The outbreak of Covid-19 has dampened the spirits of many, but that hasn’t stopped the penguins in the Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, from having a field day.
With the aquarium closed to visitors due to the coronavirus, a band of rockhopper penguins have taken the place of human visitors and gone on a field trip around the premises.
With many businesses and attractions closing their doors in efforts to limit human contact, the Shedd Aquarium, Chicago’s top-attended cultural attraction, was forced to do the same.
With a typical 2 million visitors a year, the scene after the closure was a stark contrast from that during normal operations.
That’s probably why the staff decided to be creative in planning activities for the animals, who don’t have entertain human visitors any more, reported the Chicago Sun Times.
So the lucky penguins — Edward, Annie and Wellington — were taken on a field trip, and they seem to have been given VIP access to the aquarium.
They’re even allowed to visit their “colleagues” in the aquarium.
Shedd shared charming videos of the penguin excursion on its Instagram profile and Twitter feed.
Waddling around to see some fish at the aquarium’s rotunda, these penguins even stopped once in awhile, as if admiring the scenery.
The aquarium also provided updates about the penguins’ lives, such as their upcoming nesting season, along with footage of their adventures.
Needless to say, this series of posts went viral, garnering a lot of positive comments and retweets.
The penguins tickled many bemused viewers.
Others thanked the aquarium staff for their efforts and for injecting some jollity into an otherwise trying week.
Requests for other animals to be taken on a similar adventure also surfaced, though we think these might be a little difficult to execute.
We have to give it to Shedd Aquarium for coming up with the idea. It means that people would still be able to see the animals and take part in their lives despite the closure — albeit in a virtual way.
In a Tweet, the aquarium wrote:
While this may be a strange time for us, these days feel normal for animals at Shedd. Our caregivers are constantly providing new experiences for the animals to explore and express their natural behaviors with.
Indeed, amid all that going on in the world right now, perhaps what we need is an adventure lived vicariously through some penguins — if we can’t have fun, at least they can.
Featured image adapted from Instagram.
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