Good News This Week. Well, from the Animal Kingdom

The earth is rather shitty right now for humankind. But, hey ho, it’s not been so bad for our animal co-habitants. Let’s at least celebrate some cheery news - for our animal friends.

Across the world, cities are becoming ghost towns and shadows of their formal selves as lockdown forces the population indoors. This has been good news for many animals, though, who have ventured into urban spaces they would have otherwise avoided. In Nara, Japan, sika deer were seen in subway stations and city streets. Raccoons were seen on the beach in San Felipe, Panama while Oakland, California has seen an increase in turkeys wandering about. Read more here.

With Chicago’s aquarium closed to the public, this meant good news for Wellington the rockhopper penguin who was given the chance to visit parts of the building usually prohibited for penguins. This included an exhibit of Amazonian fish which excited Wellington greatly - as much as one can tell when a penguin is excited.

Turns out it isn’t just animals who are benefiting from empty zoos and aquariums, with many of these spaces providing live-streaming for families in self-isolation. Here is a list of zoos with this service so you can also watch the animals play, including penguins, tigers and lemurs. There’s also the option for a live-stream in international zoos, too.

Good news at Chester Zoo where twins have been born to Fiona the lemur. They are just 15cm tall and described as being no bigger than “tennis balls with tails”. As lemurs are an endangered species, their survival has been crucial. According to Mike Jordan, Director of Animals and Plant Collections at Chester Zoo, “Ring-tailed lemurs are one of the planet’s highest primate conservation priorities.”
With much of the world’s population now working from home, and many living alone, increasing numbers of people have turned to animal adoption for some comfort and reassurance. Dogs, cats and chickens are proving especially popular - great news for the countless animal shelters trying to find loving homes for their fluffy four-legged inhabitants.

Nothing has actually happen in the world of quokkas this week. So there’s no reason to include these close cousins of the kangaroo. But, frankly, we could all do with some more quokka in our lives. Here are a lovely video and an older piece from National Geographic which tell the story of this Australian cutie.