It may seem like this period of isolation and quarantine due to the novel coronavirus brings with it mostly bad news. And while that may be true for some humans, nature and animals are probably not complaining as they can enjoy a little more freedom, especially those who are usually confined to their enclosures at the zoo.
Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium recently took its penguins on an adorable field trip, where they got to meet the other animals that live there. We also heard that orangutans at the Pairi Daiza Zoo in Belgium made friends with a family of otters. And while it may seem like an unlikely friendship, wait until you read about these dolphins who went crazy at the sight of a sloth!
If there was ever a competition for the most unlikely friendship on Earth, dolphins and a sloth would definitely qualify.
While quarantine isn’t the best thing that’s happened to us this year (yeah, yeah, introverts may disagree), chances are animals living in zoos aren’t complaining. A little break from seeing humans every day (check); cute little walks around the zoo that would probably never be possible otherwise (check).
However, the dolphins at the Texas Aquarium completely lost their minds when they saw a sloth.
And while sloths may not be the most excitable animals on Earth, dolphins sure are. Maybe that’s why the Texas State Aquarium decided that letting this duo meet each other was a great idea. Of course, Chico the sloth, a 3-year-old local celebrity, not only met dolphins on his tour of the Gulf of Mexico exhibit, but their encounter was definitely the highlight of the entire adventure.
Even though the Aquarium is closing its doors to humans, it seems that more doors than usual are being opened to animals.
On his walk through the Aquarium, Chico the sloth also had the chance to say hello briefly to some ducks before moving on to meet the seahorses. He was then taken on his favourite branch to meet a shark and some more friendly colourful fish. Chico seemed quite interested in the jellyfish, but nothing could compare to the final encounter with the dolphins that awaited him.
It turns out that the Aquarium staff frequently takes their animals on these types of “play dates.” “We often give the animals a chance to ‘get to know’ each other as a form of enrichment, which helps them stay active in body and mind. Since they are some of our most popular animals, it seemed like an obvious choice for our sloths and dolphins to have a chance to see each other while we were temporarily closed. We do have another sloth, Xena, but that day, she was more interested in sleeping than meeting the dolphins!”
The Texas State Aquarium decided to test the waters between two dolphins and a sloth last week.
“Our dolphins have had the opportunity to meet other animals over the years, including baby alligators, an African serval, a red-tailed boa and others. They are often very curious about the other residents at the Aquarium,” Aquarium staff explained. The lucky four who got to meet Chico last week were their four male bottlenose dolphins: Shadow, Kai, Liko and Schooner.
And the results exceeded their expectations.
“Our dolphins have had the opportunity to meet other animals over the years, including baby alligators, an African serval, a red-tailed boa and others. They are often very curious about the other residents at the Aquarium,” Aquarium staff explained. The lucky four who got to meet Chico last week were their four male bottlenose dolphins: Shadow, Kai, Liko and Schooner.
And the results exceeded their expectations.
“We strive to share as many of these stories as we can with our guests and viewers around the world to keep them engaged, educated and entertained while at home. Right now, we’ve had the most success through social media posts like this one, along with virtual viewings of our animals and daily live distance learning programs.”
Although Chico the sloth didn’t show much excitement, we’re sure he enjoyed this adventure of a lifetime too.
