Two of the popular penguins from Shedd Aquarium in Chicago have taken another exciting "field trip." This follows the recent exploits of another pair of penguins at the aquarium, while it was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Izzy and Darwin, a bonded pair of Magellanic penguins, took the opportunity to leave the nest and explore Chicago as it reopens by visiting some specimens at the neighboring Field Museum. While they were there, they stood under the towering Máximo the Titanosaur, and they made a special visit to see the famous 40-foot-long Tyrannosaurus rex, Sue, in advance of the museum opening to the public on July 24.
The aquarium posted afterward that "birds are modern, avian dinosaurs, and that includes penguins like Izzy and Darwin! They evolved from the theropod dinosaurs like the T-Rex." The penguins waddled around the empty museum, and Sue's Twitter acount joked afterwards that she "tried to teach them how to pose, but clearly they didn’t understand."
The Shedd Aquarium has now reopened to visitors, and it is committed to supporting a world thriving with aquatic life, sustained by people who love, understand and protect it. The aim of the field trips it shares is to demonstrate how the animal care team introduces exercise and variety for the penguins each day as part of a comprehensive welfare plan.
You can follow Shedd Aquarium on Instagram here and can check out its website here. Further information on the Field Museum's reopening is available here.
Lockdowns are easing globally as the planet adjusts to a new normal. Find out how COVID-19 is changing travel.
You might also like:
How wildlife is crossing the Trans-Mongolian Railroad for the first time in decades
A Canadian sparrow changed its tune - and the song went viral across the continent
