Talk about happy feet.
A group of rockhopper penguins got to take one adorable field trip after the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago was closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Thanks to the lack of visitors — who will not be allowed back in the aquarium until March 29 — the curious birds had the chance to waddle out of their habitat and explore the rest of the exhibits just like a human would.
On Sunday, the aquarium posted a video of one penguin named Wellington who, with his flippers stretched wide, seemed very enticed by some fish in the Amazon exhibit.
“Without guests in the building, caretakers are getting creative in how they provide enrichment to animals,” the aquarium told the Chicago Tribune, “introducing new experiences, activities, foods and more to keep them active, encourage them to explore, problem-solve and express natural behaviors.”
Late Monday, the aquarium added even more videos of the penguins roaming around the grounds. This time, they focused on a couple named Edward and Annie who “will begin to build their nests next week.”
“Join us digitally for nesting coverage!” the aquarium wrote on Twitter. “In the meantime, we will be sharing lots of different animal updates.”
People on Twitter seriously appreciated the feel-good content during our human health crisis.
With many people self-isolating due to COVID-19, let’s hope the aquarium continues to krill, er, quell our boredom with more quality animal content.
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