Coronavirus: Penguins allowed to roam freely in Chicago aquarium after it was shut for visitors
The sight of a penguin observing Amazonian fish was particularly popular on social media.
Penguins in the Amazon?! 🐧🌴
— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) March 15, 2020
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
As COVID-19 continues to spread, many public spaces across the world have been shut down. The list includes Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, US.
However, one positive outcome of the situation was that the rockhopper penguins in the aquarium were released from captivity and allowed to roam freely, under the guidance of the staff. Videos of the penguins walking around the aquarium and observing other exhibits were circulated widely on social media.
According to National Geographic, the rockhopper penguins are mostly live around the “craggy, windswept shorelines of the islands north of Antarctica, from Chile to New Zealand.” The video of a rockhopper penguin named Wellington observing fish exhibits from the Amazon basin was particularly popular on Twitter.
Here are the other videos of the penguins’ day out.
my favourite consequence of the covid-19 societal lockdown is aquarium penguins roaming around freely and when this is all over I for one welcome them as our new overlords pic.twitter.com/jRAQsF9nqm
— sloane (sipihkopiyesis) (@cottoncandaddy) March 17, 2020
Penguins like Edward and Annie will begin to build their nests next week. Join us digitally for nesting coverage! In the meantime, we will be sharing lots of different animal updates (and yes, Wellington will return!) 🐧👀 (2/3) pic.twitter.com/eCYKOwdOMz
— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) March 16, 2020