Being stuck at home doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy a little nature. Check out these Southern livestreams from zoos, aquariums, and wild spots to see firsthand the playful antics of otters, the parenting skills of bald eagles, and more creatures great and small.
The aquarium offers livecams of several of its cutest and most playful residents, including puffins, penguins, California sea lions, and sea otters. Two of the sea otters, Mara and Gibson, were rescued from the California coast as pups and arrived at the aquarium in March 2019.
Bald Eagle Nesting Around the South
Now is the best time for bald eagle watching. It’s nesting season, and sites around the South have exciting new members. Eagle parents Glenda and Grant are watching over two eggs in their Pigeon Forge, Tennessee nest, and this southwest Florida nest has two fast-growing eaglets raised by Victoria and Nicholas, who have nested in this spot for 16 years.
Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary, Tennessee
Watch senior dogs cuddle up, sleep, and play together in the common room of this good dog retirement center in Mt. Juliet. The center provides a forever home for older dogs in need, and the cameras are live everyday from 11am-12pm CT.
Smithsonian National Zoo, Washington DC
The Smithsonian offers a range of livecams showing lions, pandas, even naked mole rats. Though notoriously ugly, naked mole rats have some fascinating adaptations, including the ability to move their incisor teeth independently like a pair of chopsticks, which helps them dig into hard-packed soil. The rodents are naked because fur isn’t necessary when you live deep underground in warm burrows.
St. Augustine Swamp, Florida
Check in on this livecam overlooking the swamp at St. Augustine’s Alligator Farm Zoological Park to spot egrets, wood storks, and herons—and alligators swimming in the waters below the oak branches.
Chesapeake Conservancy Ospreys, Maryland
Tom and Audrey are an osprey couple on Kent Island, Maryland. Ospreys are considered an indicator of the improving overall health of the Chesapeake Bay, as their diet consists almost entirely of fish. The birds are built for fishing; their nostrils can be closed underwater, and they can dive up to three feet.
Houston Zoo, Texas
Tune in to the Houston Zoo Facebook page at 11 a.m. CST Monday through Friday for a livestream feature of a zoo resident. Recent features have included an elephant bath and a cheetah tour of the zoo in the absence of human visitors.
