Penguin Chick's Excitement Over Ball Pit at Akron Zoo Wins the Internet
It's hard to know what we love more: the zoo or penguins. But a new viral video online combines the two in one clip that is just so sweet. The Akron Zoo shared footage of one of their penguin chicks (aka, a baby penguin) and TBH, it's so cute we might need to make a trip to the zoo ASAP.
The Ohio zoo is pretty lucky. Not only do they have penguins, but they have a penguin chick that absolutely loves playtime — especially the ball pit.
As the video from the zoo shows, the Humboldt penguin chick was having a ball (get it?) diving in and out of the pit. The footage shows the penguin baby squealing with delight before hopping into the colorful orbs feet-first. We don't know exactly what a happy penguin sounds like, but it has to be something like this.
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"Penguin chick in a ball pit — cuteness quota for the day!" the zoo wrote in the video's caption.
That was putting it lightly. People in the comments section were pretty much squealing over how adorable the chick was. "NO STOP I DON'T HAVE ROOM FOR A BABY PENGUIN *AND* A BALL PIT," joked one commenter. "Was not expecting the scream of shock or was it delight?!?" someone else teased. "Omg that is total cuteness overload," a third person added. "Weird, my 2-year-old makes the same noise. Maybe I don't have a human child, but a penguin?" another commenter joked.
More About the Penguin Chick at Akron Zoo
This isn't just a young penguin, it's pretty much a baby! The Humboldt penguin was hatched at the Akron Zoo on March 3 — only months ago! The baby, since named Tercera (or "third" in Spanish), originally came to Akron Zoo from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
The decision to move the egg to Akron was made by the Humboldt Penguin Species Survival Plan (SSP) because it was high priority in terms of genetic diversity and Tercera will be fostered by two penguins with a good track record, Pez and Gabriella.
Tercera's name comes from the fact that she was born on the third day, of the third month of the year, and she's the third penguin the zoo has fostered.
At first, the zoo wanted to make sure Tercera was ready before allowing her to join the colony. She needed to eat on her own, lose her down feathers, and pass a swim test. It's unclear where playing in the ball pit comes into this whole process. But something tells us it's definitely a sign that Tercera is healthy and happy.
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