Keepers Are Letting the Penguins Run Loose at the Oregon Zoo

There's no real silver lining to the coronavirus pandemic. But think about this: If stuff were open right now, would we ever get to see cute videos of penguins wandering around zoos looking like third-graders on a field trip?

In the early stages of the shutdown, Shedd Aquarium in Chicago went viral by letting its rockhopper penguins loose to visit other exhibits. Other zoos caught on, to the point that it's become a legit trend of the COVID-19 era.

Finally, the phenomenon has reached the Oregon Zoo.

Nacho, seals. Seals, Nacho.

It's actually not the first example of interspecies gawking at our local zoo: Last week, one of the park's porcupines, Nolina, got filmed going for a walk and interacting with giraffes and a monkey—though frankly, she seemed far more interested in her food.