Overview
If your days spent working from home and social distancing could do with a few more adorable animals, you'll be happy to know the internet is filled with many. Melbourne's zoos are live streaming their penguins, leopard cubs and giraffes, Sydney's aquarium brought us playtime with Pig the dugong and a Queensland wildlife sanctuary has cams on its koalas 24/7. Now, Taronga Zoo Sydney and Taronga Western Plains Zoo Dubbo have launched their own television station: Taronga TV.
As well as three 24/7 live-streams focused on the zoos' sumatran tiger cubs, seals and elephants, the station is releasing daily videos across its Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channels. Already online: some adorable koala content, virtual hangs with the world's largest lizard, penguin feeds, baby monkeys, otters and even a video of a hippo doing a backflip. Yes, hippopotamuses — those giant water-dwelling mammals that generally weigh around 1000 kilograms — can do gymnastics better than me.
As for what's to come, the zoo is promising a lot of behind-the-scenes sneak peeks, chats with keepers, stories from the Wildlife hospitals (including how it x-rays a seal), conservation work and workshops. There's a heap of kid-focused content, too, if you have any littlies at home at the moment.
Both Taronga Zoos are temporarily closed to the public.
Taronga TV will release videos daily on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and via its website.
Top image: Rick Stevens