Penguins Meet Beluga Whales In A Closed Aquarium And It’s Adorable How Curious They Are
Remember the penguins at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, who got a chance to explore the facility after it closed due to the coronavirus pandemic? Good news: not only do their field trips continue, but Shedd Aquarium keeps sharing them on social media as well. The penguins are stealing people’s hearts as they explore their home, and recently they even met their neighbors, beluga whales.
The whales were absolutely captivated by the penguins, coming right up to the glass to meet the little fellas.
Image credits: Shedd Aquarium
The Belugas were especially fascinated by a rockhopper penguin named Wellington. And not surprisingly: this was probably the first time the whales had ever seen a penguin up close. In the wild, the two probably wouldn’t meet throughout their whole lives: while Beluga whales live in the Arctic Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere, penguins reside in the Southern Hemisphere.
Wellington himself seemed most interested by several of the freshwater fish species, including the red-bellied piranhas and the black-barred silver dollars. “Those same fish seemed equally interested in Wellington, meaning the penguins aren’t the only animals receiving enrichment from these pop-up field trips,” a spokesperson told Insider.
“While Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium may be closed to the public, animal care staff and veterinarians are onsite 24/7,” a spokesperson told Insider. “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.”
Shedd Aquarium has been educating their followers about its penguins through their posts as well, revealing that fan-favorite Wellington is 32 years old — double the life expectancy of a rockhopper.
To everyone’s delight, Shedd Aquarium even recorded one of the encounters
Here’s what people had to say about all of this
UNPOPULAR OPINION ALERT: This makes me kinda sad, those belugas should not be in captivity. They are starved for something to even look at. I was at Shed recently. The whales swim around and around in circles all day like a pacing cat in a cage.
I watched a beluga perform in Moscow about 20 years ago. Their encephalization quotient it just below a bottlenose dolphins, so they are extremely intelligent. This BW I watched was so smart and curious, that they don’t get the recognition they deserve. And they don’t deserve to be held captive.
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I think it's so funny that every time a dolphin or whale meets an animal through the glass of the pool..they try to imitate the movement of the animal they are looking at. Yesterday there was a video of the zookeepers taking a sloth around upside down on a branch and when the dolphins saw it, they rolled upside down in the pool to imitate it. If you look at these belugas, you will see them do the same, fin out, waddle like the penguins.
Anything to break up the boredom for the whales. They are telling the penguins to help them find a way to escape that tiny tank. Horrible that such large animals are put in such tiny accommodations. :-(
I hope the aquarium staff are allowed to keep doing this periodically once things get back to some semblance of normalcy, during hours that are closed to the public
Adorable? To see animals in captivity looking at other animals not free, realizing they are not the only one prisoned? Get the f**k real!!!!!
UNPOPULAR OPINION ALERT: This makes me kinda sad, those belugas should not be in captivity. They are starved for something to even look at. I was at Shed recently. The whales swim around and around in circles all day like a pacing cat in a cage.
I watched a beluga perform in Moscow about 20 years ago. Their encephalization quotient it just below a bottlenose dolphins, so they are extremely intelligent. This BW I watched was so smart and curious, that they don’t get the recognition they deserve. And they don’t deserve to be held captive.
Load More Replies... I think it's so funny that every time a dolphin or whale meets an animal through the glass of the pool..they try to imitate the movement of the animal they are looking at. Yesterday there was a video of the zookeepers taking a sloth around upside down on a branch and when the dolphins saw it, they rolled upside down in the pool to imitate it. If you look at these belugas, you will see them do the same, fin out, waddle like the penguins.
Anything to break up the boredom for the whales. They are telling the penguins to help them find a way to escape that tiny tank. Horrible that such large animals are put in such tiny accommodations. :-(
I hope the aquarium staff are allowed to keep doing this periodically once things get back to some semblance of normalcy, during hours that are closed to the public
Adorable? To see animals in captivity looking at other animals not free, realizing they are not the only one prisoned? Get the f**k real!!!!!
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