The zoos are currently under quarantine because of the coronavirus outbreak. But don’t worry–the animals are still diligently being taken care of by their respective zookeepers.
Although the zoos’ operations were temporarily shut down, the caretakers were able to find a way to share bits of the animals’ daily lives using social media.
Right now, videos of animals meeting other animals are revolving around the internet.
These videos piqued many people’s interest, and the videos melted everyone’s hearts when they saw the animals’ adorable reactions to meeting each other.
So now, here is a small compilation of wholesome clips of animals seeing each other for the first time.
An adorable video of a sea lion meeting a tegu for the first time broke the internet.
Mystic Aquarium posted the clip on Twitter and received plenty of positive reactions from the internet. People couldn’t contain their smiles as the confused sea lion stared at the unfamiliar creature in front of him.
The tweet received 4,500 likes and has been retweeted 1,297 times.
When you got no game at the #StaringGame but your animal enrichment is on point. pic.twitter.com/dbp67i3mu3
— Mystic Aquarium (@mysticaquarium) March 19, 2020
A gorilla showed interest in his small, furry visitor.
A coati was taken to visit a gorilla’s den. The coati bided his time sniffing around the area while the gorilla looked interested in the unexpected visit.
Taki the coati cutie visited some prime-mates over the weekend. 🤗 pic.twitter.com/zG4mhLM6kS
— San Diego Zoo (@sandiegozoo) March 24, 2020
While this diurnal creature was roaming around the bars, the gorilla just sat and gently observed the creature.
Penguins were able to see each other from a different perspective.
A Magellanic penguin at Shedd aquarium named Monte was taken outside his aquarium to see how he would react when he saw his buddies swimming in the tank.
When in the water, penguins are powerhouses! 💪🐧
Magellanic penguins are excellent long-distance swimmers. With their powerful wings, they can hit speeds of 15 mph. Monte explored the Polar Play Zone and stopped to watch Dolores and Mercedes swim. pic.twitter.com/dYiDhdGhNM
— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) March 25, 2020
Monte playfully watched his buddies swimming around the tank, and his friends were also surprised to see Monte walking outside the aquarium.
The meerkats got curious while a red river hog enjoyed his walk.
Sir Francis Bacon, a red river hog from the Cincinnati Zoo, was taken around for a walk. While he roamed around the Africa habitat, the meerkats took notice of the unusual visitor and decided to get a closer look.
The meerkats’ vision was blocked when the hog passed by a rock, so the tiny creatures scurried to another location to get a better angle. It was adorable how they huddled together like little kids getting excited. The clip went viral after it was uploaded on Facebook.
These different bird species had fun flocking for a day.
Maryland Zoo shared a clip on Twitter featuring an Indian runner duck enjoying spending time with the penguins at the Penguin Education Center.
🦆🐧Birds of a feather…visit each other when the Zoo is closed. Our Indian runner duck stopped by the Penguin Education Center this week. #ClosedButStillCaring pic.twitter.com/Hvd8aSbSe7
— Maryland Zoo (@marylandzoo) March 21, 2020
The penguins were confined to a large aquarium and the duck was able to witness them from outside. Despite being separated by a wall of glass, these birds were delightfully interacting with each other pretty well.
Hodari was chilling with the big fishies at a pond.
The Dallas Zoo also decided to participate in this fun challenge. They posted a clip on Twitter, where Hodari, an eagle owl chick, visited the koi fish pond at the Children’s Zoo.
Remember Hodari, our adorable little milky eagle owl chick? She took a trip to the Children’s Zoo recently to meet the koi fish! We are introducing her to all kinds of sights and sounds right now, so she’ll grow up to be confident and a great ambassador for her species. pic.twitter.com/4QdkVJj69l
— Dallas Zoo (@DallasZoo) March 25, 2020
The environment was new to this still-growing bird, but Hodari just crouched a little bit on the ground and set his eyes on the swimming koi fish.
We’re not the only ones who love seeing new creatures for the first time.
As you can see, these zoo animals react almost the same way we do.
Despite the existing pandemic, the people at homes were able to relieve their stress by watching these short, adorable clips. A lot of people hope that there are more of these videos and behind-the-scenes footage during this ongoing crisis.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.