The coronavirus pandemic has forced people to drastically change the way they live their lives with some governments telling citizens to shelter in place while shuttering non-essential businesses.

But while humans might be suffering from these harsh but necessary measures, there are some unintended beneficiaries.

One of these is a group of penguins who were seen happily roaming an aquarium after it was closed due to the coronavirus crisis.

One can’t help but think of the movie Madagascar as the cute creatures were let loose at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium since no one else was there.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the zoo was closed. Although the animals may not be getting any visitors for some time, they’re not exactly unhappy about that, at least for the penguins who were given a chance to stretch their legs.

On its social media pages, the zoo said: “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.”

The aquarium added in another post: “This morning, Edward and Annie explored Shedd’s rotunda.

“They are a bonded pair of rockhopper penguins, which means they are together for nesting season. Springtime is nesting season for penguins at Shedd, and this year is no different!

“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.”

On March 13, both Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the banning of all public gatherings of 1,000 people or more.

The directive impacted zoos and concert venues which closed to help slow down the spread of COVID-19.

The Shedd Aquarium told the Chicago Tribune: “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.”

President Donald Trump had issued updated guidelines for the coronavirus outbreak.

This includes avoiding gatherings of 10 or more people and avoiding restaurants, bars, and food courts.

Mr. Trump told a news conference: “It seems to me if we do a really good job, we’ll not only hold the death down to a level that’s much lower than the other way had we not done a good job, but people are talking about July, August.”

 

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