"As an animal keeper, I've come to appreciate the fact that I've been able to spend lockdown caring for and interacting with the animals I've come to share a bond with," says aquarist Ayrton King of the Two Oceans Aquarium. "I know that spending time with the precious penguins has helped get me through the stress and uncertainty of the lockdown period and the coronavirus pandemic at large - I know that these birds cheer me up every day, so I hope that I can share some of that with everyone."
"After taking some of these funny penguin videos and showing them to my colleagues and family and seeing the laughs and smiles that they got, I decided to share these moments on social media. And, I thought that "these penguins pick me up and make me happy" - so I hope others can also get some joy from these Penguin Pick-me-ups! It's been incredible to see how these posts have been shared across the world, and knowing that the penguins are helping people get through tough times - it just shows that something small can have a really big impact."
We've shared a few of our favourite "Penguin Pick-me-ups" here. To see more, you can follow aquarist Ayrton King on Instagram.
Help us continue our work during lockdown - click here