Chico, the sloth, gets to meet his aquatic neighbors.
At the Texas State Aquarium, Chico the sloth is a big hit. The sloth is used to being adored by thousands of visitors, but since the aquarium had to close amid the coronavirus outbreak, the sloth now has some downtime to say hi to the other animals on the grounds.
The Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi is a private non-profit establishment that is home to over 460 species of animals. Their various ecosystems feature sea, land, and sky creatures including sharks, flamingos, and eagles.
As of now, the aquarium is slated to re-open on May 1st. Meanwhile, the aquarium is still managed by some on-site veterinary staff to take care of the animals.
While the doors are closed, some of the animals are getting the chance to have a look around, including Chico the sloth.
“As a bit of a local celebrity, Chico can’t tour the Aquarium on most days without being mobbed by his adoring fans. But with our temporary closing, our sleepy sloth Chico was treated to an eye-opening adventure through our Gulf of Mexico exhibits,” read the description on the aquarium’s post to Instagram.
Their exhibit includes a series of tanks populated by schools of fish, ducks, baby crocodiles, and sea horses (respectively).
Hanging on to a branch, the curious Chico gets a glimpse of the Aquarium’s sharks, jellyfish, and dolphins — which smile with glee in reaction to this strange creature.
At the end of the video, a tuckered-out Chico happily munches away on a well-deserved zucchini.
The aquarium is still regularly posting pictures and videos to their social accounts, oftentimes with educational factoids about the featured animals.
Follow their Facebook page to view their Facebook Live feeds with educational videos via Zoom featuring octopuses, flamingos, and coral reefs teaming with schools of fish!
[Featured image: @txstateaquarium]