Wellington
(Photo : Shedd Aquarium/Reuters)

As Americans hunker down amid the COVID-19 pandemic, zoos and aquariums have launched "home safaris", allowing "visitors" to view their animals through virtual tours and webcams.

An aquarium in Chicago has released footage of penguins exploring and meeting other "residents," and it is honestly the cutest thing you'll see today.

Shedd Aquarium, which is located at 1200 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, released footage of penguins Edward and Annie bonding and exploring the empty museum.

         
 View this post on Instagram
       The adventure continues! This morning, Edward and Annie explored the rotunda. They are a bonded pair of rockhopper penguins, which means they are together for nesting season. Every spring is nesting season for the penguins here at Shedd, and this year is no different! Next week, penguins, including Edward and Annie, will begin to build their nests. You’re invited to digitally join us for the nesting coverage! In the meantime, we will share a variety of animal activities, and yes, Wellington will return! While right now is strange to us, it’s a normal day for the penguins and other animals at Shedd. Our caregivers are constantly providing new activities, experiences, food and more to allow the animals to express natural behaviors. Let us what penguin activities you want to see!  A post shared by  Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) on Mar 16, 2020 at 2:09pm PDT

The video has racked up 445,884 views on their Instagram page a day after posting. Social media users praised the aquarium for releasing the content in an effort to uplift the American spirit during the coronavirus crisis.

Shedd Aquarium promised to deliver more animal-related content... and deliver they did.

They posted multiple images of the animals celebrating St. Patrick's day with their caretakers. The images included Biff the sea lion, Ellie the sea otter, Sparrow the Magellanic penguin, and Laguna the sea lion.

Wellington, their 32-year-old rockhopper penguin, was also captured making friends with sea otters. The footage is premium content at its finest.

Other museums took a cue from the beloved penguins and released footage of their own.

Sue, Chicago's favorite dinosaur roamed the Field Museum to combat the penguins' rising popularity. The footage even shows her walking up to a penguin display as if challenging the adorable creatures: 'It's your turn, Shedd Aquarium.'

The Saint Louis Zoological Park, which is located in Forest Park, Saint Louis, Missouri, also released photos and footage of their animals having fun.

One post showed a polar bear having the time of its life posing for the camera in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.

Another showed their own penguin troop waddling around with the zoo's animal care team despite their limited number of staff. The Humboldt penguins who were named Pedro, Fernando, Chirrida, Guapo, Mona, and Marco visited other penguins in the enclosure. They also dropped by the souvenir shop in an attempt to buy keychains and plushies but were met with closed doors.

The Saint Louis Zoo opened a "virtual" viewing of their penguins from 9 am to 5 pm. Visit stlzoo.org/penguincam to watch the penguins and puffins live.


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The Dallas Zoo, which is closed at least through March 20, began sharing their feel-good animal content on social media with the hashtag #BringTheZooToYou. The zoo continuously uploads behind-the-scenes footage and educational videos on their social media sites.

Gregg Hudson, Dallas Zoo's chief executive, said their virtual tours are a way to stay in touch with over 30,000 families living in Dallas, offering respite following the surge of COVID-19 cases and lockdown measures.

Hudson said their employees are now down to 100 and are watching over 2,000 animals in the enclosure. Shifts are being staggered and staff members are being trained to replace on another in the event that someone contracts the coronavirus.

The zoo will reportedly keep all seasonal and part-time staff members on the payroll.