Zoos provide people with the opportunity to see animals up close and get closer to the world of animals. And from time to time, zoo visitors quickly build close ties with animals-after all, evidence that we may not change that much.
Like an encounter captured in an adorable viral video where penguins seem to believe that human guests are unique.
When Izzy Meltzer recently visited the Cincinnati Zoo, she visited an African penguins enclosure-and caught the attention of a curious bird
Izzy noticed that the penguin was attached to her. Every time she walked around, a penguin followed.
“I made a friend!” she says. “He’s pecking at me.”
She quickly finds out why that penguin is so affectionate: penguin-like her black-and-white outfit.
“I think it’s because I’m dressed like that,” she says, and her companions behind the camera agree.
While laughing at her “matching outfit,” Izzy keeps walking back and forth while the curious penguin keep chasing her.
In the video, you can hear her saying “I don’t want to go”.
“That made my day sweeter!” She wrote on Twitter and joked about “penguin-like similarities.” This video has been watched nearly 80,000 times.
This made my day!! @CincinnatiZoo could it be my penguin-like resemblance?? pic.twitter.com/zHijHXqxTQ
— Izzy Meltzer (@IzzyMeltzer) November 11, 2021
The response to the video was generally positive, but some were worried that the penguin might actually just be trying to escape the trap.
However, the Cincinnati Zoo is supposed to house more than 30 African penguin colonies at the newly built “African Penguins Point”, providing the best possible living space.
“Fans, fog, sprinklers, underwater nozzles, heat lamps, multiple boards, and mounting points for underwater enrichment provide a complex environment,” explains the zoo’s website.
The brand new African Penguin Point opens September 9! https://t.co/xCS17Y4o4n pic.twitter.com/g8aoasOUmu
— Cincinnati Zoo (@CincinnatiZoo) September 4, 2020
It was also built to provide enough space to promote breeding. This is very important because African penguins are an endangered species that is under threat from wild oil spills and overfishing.
The zoo also supports the SANCCOB, a Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, a non-profit organization that supports abandoned or injured African penguin chicks.
The Cincinnati Zoo shared a video of Izzy and named her and the penguins “BFF”.
BFFs! 🐧🐧 https://t.co/xNhBEsrZML
— Cincinnati Zoo (@CincinnatiZoo) November 11, 2021
After Izzy posted a viral video, Izzy shared a photo of a curious penguins: “My buddy close-up!”
A close up of my pal! pic.twitter.com/nqaUxYNfNC
— Izzy Meltzer (@IzzyMeltzer) November 11, 2021
What a sweet, funny video. Share this story with those who loves penguins!