At the moment, a number of establishments have already ceased operations in compliance with the government-mandated quarantine. And zoos, aquariums, as well as botanic gardens are no exception. But while their doors remain closed to the public, their social media channels remain active to spread some positivity online. Videos of zoo animals interacting with each other for the first time have recently surfaced on various social media platforms. Apparently, people just couldn’t get enough of these adorable encounters.
Not too long ago, we’ve seen how the cute penguins of Shedd Aquarium in Chicago roamed freely inside their premises. Prior to that, we’ve also witnessed the surprisingly sweet encounter between a seal puppy and a dachshund. Well, this time, we have a sea lion meeting a tegu for the first time. And, we have to say, it was a pretty intense staring game!
A snippet of the delightful meetup instantly went viral after an illustrator shared it on their Twitter account. Well, it turns out the two newfound buddies are from the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. And while the aquarium has temporarily closed its doors, the underwater adventure continues via their social media pages. Aside from sharing fun facts, the aquarium keepers are also constantly keeping the public updated of the animals’ daily routines.
Pray for the zoo animals in this time of crisis. I mean, they’re getting really well taken care of, but they’re also living through an era of zookeepers saying, “Y’know what? Fuck it, lets just show them each other!” pic.twitter.com/DazZP88322
— ? Stiffler ? (@FindChaos) March 22, 2020
People are gushing over the two creatures’ adorable encounter
When you got no game at the #StaringGame but your animal enrichment is on point. pic.twitter.com/dbp67i3mu3
— Mystic Aquarium (@mysticaquarium) March 19, 2020
Apparently, the Mystic Aquarium is not alone in its efforts to provide virtual tours for the time being. Other wildlife parks have also joined the trend in hopes of spreading some good vibes amidst the crisis. These include the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Maryland Zoo, San Diego Zoo, and Dallas Zoo, among others.
Videos of zoo animals meeting with each other for the first time have been gracing people’s online feeds
??Birds of a feather…visit each other when the Zoo is closed. Our Indian runner duck stopped by the Penguin Education Center this week. #ClosedButStillCaring pic.twitter.com/Hvd8aSbSe7
— Maryland Zoo (@marylandzoo) March 21, 2020
Taki the coati cutie visited some prime-mates over the weekend. ? pic.twitter.com/zG4mhLM6kS
— San Diego Zoo (@sandiegozoo) March 24, 2020
When in the water, penguins are powerhouses! ??
Magellanic penguins are excellent long-distance swimmers. With their powerful wings, they can hit speeds of 15 mph. Monte explored the Polar Play Zone and stopped to watch Dolores and Mercedes swim. pic.twitter.com/dYiDhdGhNM
— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) March 25, 2020
Remember Hodari, our adorable little milky eagle owl chick? She took a trip to the Children’s Zoo recently to meet the koi fish! We are introducing her to all kinds of sights and sounds right now, so she’ll grow up to be confident and a great ambassador for her species. pic.twitter.com/4QdkVJj69l
— Dallas Zoo (@DallasZoo) March 25, 2020
Meanwhile, one zookeeper has revealed that such encounters are a regular practice among wildlife parks
I’ll be real we do this all the time anyways lol (at my facility we call it “visual species interaction” to sound ~fancy~) we just don’t usually record it and put it on our social media! Plus right now we can go for like, long walks and not have to worry about operating hours woo
— Arras (@AnimusPanthera) March 23, 2020
We also took our seriema to our aviary – she was very interested in the other birds, not so much in any other animals. The flamingos and the sunbittern were very interested in her too (the sunbittern tried to scare her off lol).
— Arras (@AnimusPanthera) March 23, 2020
We’ve also taken both the serval and our coati to see the dolphins. The dolphins wanted to eat the serval (it was kinda hilarious, with a foot of glass in between them), the serval wasn’t interested. The coati and the dolphins were mutually disinterested.
— Arras (@AnimusPanthera) March 23, 2020
The zookeeper also provided interesting insights on some of the animals’ peculiar traits
Unsurprisingly, lots of our predatory species like looking at the chickens (from a safe distance, and outside the enclosure of course). The chickens are Fearless. They live next door to the serval. He enjoys chicken TV but the chickens don’t seem to care he exists
— Arras (@AnimusPanthera) March 23, 2020
(We observed the chickens closely when we first moved them in to make sure that location wasn’t too stressful for them, but they never even seemed to notice the serval exists, even when he was Very Interested in them right after they moved in)
— Arras (@AnimusPanthera) March 23, 2020
Also: sea flap-flaps are Extremely Terrifying. Most of our animals are actively scared of both the stingrays and the sea turtles, so we avoid those tanks.
— Arras (@AnimusPanthera) March 23, 2020
The parrots can be interested in fish, sometimes. They are mostly disinterested in other birds. I also recently took the rats to see the ducks. The ducks were Suspicious and I don’t think the rats realized the ducks exist.
— Arras (@AnimusPanthera) March 23, 2020
Through conducting virtual tours and sharing educational trivia about animals, the zoos hope to impart not just new knowledge but some positivity to their followers as well
In an interview, Gregg Hudson, president and chief executive of the Dallas Zoo, said that such online efforts aim to serve as positive distractions for people.
“We know there’s probably a lot of families at home, and we hope to offer a respite from other news that’s bombarding people.”
In addition to the above-mentioned zoos and aquariums, the Kanzas City Zoo and the Tropical Reef Aquarium in Long Beach California are also offering live stream feeds of their adorable animals.