Animals lonely as zoos lock down - 29th May 2020

Providence Rhode Island Zoo is in the USA. The animals there are feeling lonely.

There are no visitors because US zoos closed on 14th March. Some zookeepers and vets still come to work. They wear masks to stay safe while they are looking after the animals.

Lisa Ruggiero is a zookeeper. She says the animals don’t mind the masks.

Lisa Ruggiero: They did look at us a little funny, but we still have them on but we've had them on for over a month now so they don’t really seem to care, they hear our voice and they know it’s us.

The zoo has a long history and first opened in 1872. It’s one of the oldest American zoos, with hundreds of visitors every day. Most animals like seeing the children, who also feed them. But the quiet has advantages, says zookeeper Jennifer Hennessy.

Jennifer Hennessy: I feel like they are really missing the visitors as well as all the staff. There’s some perks for some of the animals, the tortoise gets to walk wherever she wants to go, she is hiding in the bushes over there, but overall we just really miss our public and visitors.