A US aquarium is among the many public institutions that have closed their doors and suspended operation amid shutdowns in trying to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago announced that it would be closing its doors to visitors for two weeks until Sunday 29 March in a bid to protect the overall health of the community and staff.
Announcing the temporary closure on Twitter on 13 March, Shedd Aquarium ended the tweet with: ‘In the meantime, let us know what animal updates you want!’
Some of the aquarium’s residents, two bonded rockhopper penguins named Edward and Annie, were released from their enclosure and were allowed to wander around the premises together, supervised by a staff member who filmed their fun little excursion and uploaded the footage to social media.
Penguins in the Amazon?! 🐧🌴
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
Edward and Annie’s trip coincided with the Spring nesting season in the northern hemisphere, so in a way, you can consider their waddles around aquarium exhibitions, past the information desk and various enclosures featuring their aquatic, fishy neighbours a romantic rendezvous.
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. Let us know what penguin activities you would like to see! (3/3) pic.twitter.com/ftlow7iPHl
— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) March 16, 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
Much like the Chicago aquarium, in Ohio, the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden has also started a ‘Home Safari’ live feed series on Facebook for families with children home from school to avoid contracting coronavirus.
In California, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has also been sharing a live feed from its ‘Sea Otter Cam’ which monitors its sea otter enclosure to help bring a smile to those waiting out the quarantine.
Featured image: Shedd Aquarium via Twitter
