London Zoo: Humboldt Penguin

I had a fantastic day at the zoo today! I went with a friend O., whose friend L. works with the small mammals (the ones that are involved in the shows). She took us into the enclosures to meet some of the hand-reared creatures that are allowed to interact with people...

I met Sid the red ruffed lemur; his partner died, so he is lonesome and needs a lot of attention and contact. Social grooming is important because it encourages the release of serotonin (which wards off depression), so if they lack contact, they get depressed. We obliged: he was super-adorable, with beautiful russet fur, and a soft and bushy black tail. He also exhibits the same palmar grasp reflex as young infants, so when he found my finger with his velvet-textured hand, he gripped it tightly.
We then met Honey the kinkajou: they are nocturnal so she was pretty much asleep... Her long black tail is prehensile, so she gripped my hand with her tail which was adorable. Then we met Marion the hairy armadillo. She was seriously hectic: she trotted around like a curious daschund or terrier, and dug and sniffed and trotted around some more. She liked me rather more than I'd bargained for, and after sniffing me persistently (I was sitting on a rock in her enclosure) she jumped up inside my duffel coat and scrambled up my side to snuggle behind the small of my back. I never thought I'd be cuddled by a hairy armadillo...
Lastly, we met Liam the meerkat: L. held onto him tightly because he wriggled like anything. He seemed calm (unperturbed) but was apparently a little bit bitey, so we stroked him tentatively on the back, and eventually braved the smoother hair on his head, and although he gummed O., there were no traumatic bites. His hair was rather coarse... His sister Roo was still in their pen, and was squeaking and chirruping to try to find Liam. I've never been a meerkat-crazed person, but they were supercute.

I've struggled to choose my blip: I had a fantastic time, and we saw loads of beautiful animals. My favourites are still probably the squirrel monkeys, but I've blipped them before. There were also (wild) Egyptian geese at the zoo, but I refrained from photographing them... I've blipped this little Humboldt penguin because it was adorable, and looked straight at me! It was standing in the corner away from the others, and was small and more grey (perhaps a juvenile?); adorable seems to have been the theme of my day, so I hope you find this suitably cute.

p.s. Thank you for all the positive feedback on my picture of Hector the Coot yesterday!