Safe to say, many of us are feeling pretty down and out during this current coronavirus pandemic, but there have been some glimmers of joy to come from all of this, and one of those things has been videos of penguins roaming the halls of aquariums across the country.
It all started at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, where employees let the penguins at the exhibit have free rein. Someone took a video of the stunt, and people on the internet couldn’t help but fall in love with the little penguins casually taking a stroll through their home away from home.
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The adventure continues! 🐧🐧
— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) March 16, 2020
This morning, Edward and Annie explored Shedd’s rotunda. They are a bonded pair of rockhopper penguins, which means they are together for nesting season. Springtime is nesting season for penguins at Shedd, and this year is no different! (1/3) 👇 pic.twitter.com/VdxN3oQAfe
The video shows Edward and Annie exploring the atrium at Shedd Aquarium. According to the aquarium, the two little penguins are a pair of rockhopper penguins and they’re together during nesting season. How cute!
The team in Chicago also posted a video of a 32-year-old penguin named Wellington, who got to check out his friends at the otter exhibit.
The aquarium said in a tweet that Wellington has lived twice as long as normal rockhopper penguins do, and he can see just fine thanks to cataract surgeries.
Wellington meets the sea otters! 🦦🐧 Wellington the rockhopper continued his field trip around the aquarium by visiting the Shedd otter habitat. #WheresWellingtonWednesday (1/2) pic.twitter.com/VlEeDzSoIV
— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) March 18, 2020
Shedd Aquarium’s penguin field trip has inspired other zoos and aquariums to let the penguins free, including the St. Louis Zoo.
The penguins also took a field trip around the exhibit, and luckily for us, the St. Louis Zoo posted an adorable video of it on YouTube for us to watch while we’re quarantined.
There is a lot of uncertainty in the world right now, but at least we have these little moments of joy to remind us that not everything is bleak.