Adorable photos of animals meeting each other at zoos and aquariums to get you through the week
Anneta Konstantinides
- As people around the world continue to stay at home, animals at zoos and aquariums are freely wandering around and meeting each other.
- Staff have been using the empty spaces to find new ways to keep their animals entertained and engaged.
- The Beluga whales at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago were fascinated by the penguins, while the dolphins at Texas State Aquarium literally flipped with excitement over meeting a sloth.
- Orangutans and otters have become best friends at a zoo in Belgium, while gorillas jumped for joy at the chance to see alpacas in Canada.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
As people around the world continue to stay at home, animals at aquariums and zoos are getting the chance to meet each other for the very first time.
From penguins and whales to orangutans and otters, new friendships are blossoming everywhere.
Insider has rounded up some of our favorite animal meet-ups to help get you through the week, and we'll keep adding to it as new connections continue to form across the globe.
Read the original article on InsiderThe gorillas rushed to get a closer look before jumping up and down and banging on the glass in excitement.
Their enthusiastic reaction was captured on video, which the Toronto Zoo later posted to Twitter.
- Read more:
- A Chicago aquarium is letting its penguins wander freely and meet the other animals after closing due to the coronavirus pandemic
- The penguins who were let loose in a Chicago aquarium met Beluga whales, and it's hard to tell who was more starstruck
- A group of orangutans and otters living together at a Belgium zoo have formed an unlikely friendship
- Foster puppies went on a field trip to an empty aquarium and got to meet sharks and manta rays
Gorillas at the Toronto Zoo in Canada were even more excited when they got the chance to meet a few alpacas.
Staff brought the alpacas over to the gorillas, who were fascinated by their new furry friends.
Earlier this month, a group of gorillas, some penguins, and an aardvark all had a "playdate" together at the Jacksonville Zoo in Florida.
The zoo's gorillas seemed especially fascinated by two penguins named CJ and Sharky.
"Our animals miss interacting with visitors," Jacksonville Zoo spokesman Kelly Rouillard told Insider. "To help with this, and as part of their enrichment, we introduced animals who would not normally see each other in the wild."
Uijan and Berani have become especially close to their otter neighbors, often chasing each other around and playing hide-and-seek.
Pairi Daiza spokesman Mathieu Goedefroy told Insider that the zoo wanted to create an enriching environment for its animals.
"It makes life more fun and interesting for both animal species," Goedefroy said. "The otters really enjoy getting out of the water on the orangutan island to go and play with their big, furry friends."
Over in Belgium, a family of orangutans are currently living in harmony with a group of otters.
The adorable best friends are cohabiting at the Pairi Daiza zoo in Brugelette, Belgium, where they often spend their days playing together.
The Asian small-clawed otters live in a river that runs through the orangutan territory, where 24-year-old "father" orangutan Uijan and 15-year-old "mother" orangutan Sari have lived with their 4-year-old son Berani since 2017.
The kittens looked around in wonder as they explored the aquarium, even pawing at the glass as they watched all the fish.
"They were most fascinated by the diver in our Pacific Barrier Reef window, and by the brightly-colored tropical fish," Georgia Aquarium spokesperson Hannah Hardwick told Insider.
The puppies had so much fun that, just a few weeks later, the Atlanta Humane Society brought over some foster kittens to the aquarium.
And with names like Nemo, Dory, Guppy, Bubbles, and Marlin, the adorable kitties fit right in.
The adorable puppies then took a nap right by their new fish friends.
"We at Georgia Aquarium want to bring joy to peoples' day, especially during this time," a spokesperson told Insider. "And what better way than puppies?"
These adorable marine visits inspired the Atlanta Humane Society to bring its foster puppies to the Georgia Aquarium.
Eight-week-old puppies Carmel and Odie met the likes of whale sharks and manta rays during their fun-filled day.
One of the dolphins even did an impression of Chico, flipping upside down to mimic his position on a branch.
Chico, on the other hand, seemed unfazed by his new audience.
"In true sloth fashion, Chico was pretty sleepy when we brought him to our underwater view to meet the dolphins," Texas State Aquarium spokesman Seamus McAfee told Insider. "But he did open his eyes a few times to check them out."
Over at Texas State Aquarium, the dolphins were literally flipping for joy when they were introduced to one very sleepy sloth.
Liko and Schooner had a blast meeting Chico the sloth, swimming right up to the glass to get a closer look at him.
The visits have continued well into April, with staff members continuing to introduce their penguins to different animals.
Penguins Iris, Calista, and Bosco recently explored Shedd's Underwater Beauty section, where Iris said hello to all the jellyfish.
The Belugas were especially fascinated by Wellington, a rockhopper penguin.
One of the whales couldn't take their eyes off of Wellington during the visit, and he seemed just as intrigued by his new friend.
A few weeks later, staff at Shedd introduced the penguins to the aquarium's Beluga whales — and it was hard to tell who was more starstruck.
This was likely the first time the whales had ever seen a penguin. While Beluga whales live in the Arctic Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere, penguins are native to the Southern Hemisphere.
Staff saw the empty aquarium as an opportunity to enrich their animals in new and exciting ways.
"Without guests in the building, caretakers are getting creative in how they provide enrichment to animals — introducing new experiences, activities, foods, and more to keep them active, encourage them to explore, problem-solve, and express natural behaviors," a Shedd spokesman told Insider.
Even during this time of uncertainty, it's important to keep things as normal as possible for the animals, Shedd's zookeepers added.
"Enrichment is a regular part of the animals' day, so we are keeping the day for the animals the same," they told Insider. "A field trip in the aquarium is just enrichment we don't do as frequently."
It was the penguins roaming around Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, that first captured our attention — and our hearts — in March.
A week after deciding to temporarily close the aquarium's doors, staff at Shedd let their penguins wander around and meet the likes of dolphins, stingrays, and piranhas.
Monte the penguin seemed especially fascinated by this white-sided dolphin.
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