You are never too old to celebrate your birthday. In fact, you don’t even need to be a human! Zoos all across the country love to throw parties for their animal friends, and the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago is no different. So, although they are no strangers to throwing birthday parties, there is one in particular that stands out. This birthday was for an echidna named Adelaide.
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This sweet elderly lady has been with this zoo for quite some time. In fact, based on previous social media posts from the zoo, it seems that she is the oldest animal in their care. With that in mind, it’s no wonder they went all out for her birthday, a delicious “cake” and all. The ingredients? Meal worms, chicken puree, and animal safe food coloring. See the celebration for yourself in the video below!
@brookfieldzoo Join us in celebrating a very special milestone—Adelaide the echidna's 56th birthday! Short-beaked echidnas are primarily insect eaters, feasting on ants, termites, and worms. Because echidnas don't have teeth, they crush their food against the tongue and the roof of their mouth to mash it up. As part of Adelaide's birthday celebration, she received some of her favorite foods including meal worms and chicken puree with animal safe food coloring. Don't forget to wish Adelaide the echidna a happy 56th birthday below
♬ original sound – Brookfield Zoo Chicago
Did you notice Adelaide’s candles? That’s right, she is 56-years-old! In human years, that’s not very old. But when you’re an echidna, reaching this age is a very, very big deal. That’s because the typical lifespan of one of these creatures in captivity is 50 years. That makes her a whopping six years older than expected!
Chicago Zoo Celebrates the Milestone Birthday of Their Beloved 56-Year-Old Echidna, Adelaide
Echidna are such interesting little creatures. Although they often remind people of hedgehogs (with the character Sonic the Hedgehog likely having an influence), they are actually in the same family as platypuses. In fact, they’re the only living mammals that lay eggs!
Want to join in on the birthday celebrations of other zoo friends? You’ll want to check out Fatou, the world’s oldest gorilla. But we can’t forget about Rhu! Unlike Adelaide and Fatou, her age isn’t particularly noteworthy. That said, this clouded leopard is as cute as can be!
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here!
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