And now, for something completely different. While Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium has been closed to visitors, the aquarium has allowed its penguins to take ‘field trips’ inside the facility. Here is a short video of Wellington, a rockhopper penguin, coming face to face with three beluga whales, Kayavak, Mauyak, and baby Annik. The whales appeared to be very interested in the penguin and vice versa. Given that penguins are native to the Southern Hemisphere and belugas are found only in the north, this may be one of the few interactions between the two species.
Coronavirus lockdown sees penguin and beluga whale become unlikely friends
The “beluga container” at the Chicago aquarium is something to behold. It’s so large that the animals emerge from the transparency limit of the water (not shabby at all), approach the window appearing quite small because there’s nothing in the tank to set scale. When arriving at the window they loom ever so large, something that for some reason the video doesn’t quite capture.
Breathtaking.
Oh look! Lunch!
Balugas are opportunistic feeders and it was great that there was an inch of glass between them.