Animals feast on cicadas at the Chicagoland zoo

Animals at a Chicagoland zoo are experiencing cicadas for the first time in 17 years. The Cicadas landed at the Brookfield Zoo on Tuesday afternoon, and have since become a tasty treat for all the animals living there. #chicagoland #cicada #cicadas
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[@silverbeach1557]

Imagine being underground for 17 years and when you finally get above ground you immediately get eaten alive by a meerkat and somebody goes "So cute!"

[@AJTwo]

Well, they died fast, so - kind of?

[@justinwheeler5614]

The early bird gets the worm: the early worm gets eaten; the second mouse gets the cheese.

[@Deined]

The OP posts this as if the cicadas themselves actually care. 🙄 Their sole motivations after reaching adulthood are to mate and lay eggs. They don't even have mouths to eat at that point.

[@wilkby]

Find a video of a dog with a cicada chirping in its mouth.

[@dracodracarys2339]

Imagine if it rained pizza once every 17 years. This is what it's like for them.

[@thepotatoofheaven]

im almost jealous

[@FlowKio]

Except most species don’t see more them more than once

[@barbwired2361]

Free food! I know our chickens and turkeys are enjoying their new daily feast.

[@bandido7994]

Meerkats in their natural habitat feed on insects among other things. They are loving it!!!

[@Soul_Flow_]

and your point is????

[@dantedetsu7781]

​@@Soul_Flow_ what point? They're giving info chill

[@rozniyusof2859]

Piquant with a very pleasant crunch

[@coyotelong4349]

I just think of Timon & Pumbaa introducing Simba to the delicacy of bugs in The Lion King

[@lostneko8236]

I wonder if zookeepers change feeding plans a little to account for the extra snacks. Super happy to see the animals having a easy feast w/ the cicadas :D

[@pisces363]

They should if they’re not. It’s free food!

[@aniakrysia]

My Ragdoll cat keeps catching them on the balcony and bringing them home. 😂

[@joejuan5022]

no one, animals included, passes on free buffet

[@juanvaladez5703]

Lots of happy animals with bellies full of delicious protein. Wonderful. 🌈🕊️

[@SCFLEUR]

The ultimate delicacy for them 17 years in the making.

[@lallen3327]

Nature : Largest Cicada season in decades. Monkey: Pass the salt.

[@seanm3463]

They taste like shrimp

[@nanarose8537]

😂😂😂

[@jasondaveries9716]

All spring I've been on my front porch watching birds chase and eat cicadas. Fun stuff!

[@just_kos99]

Wow, like mana from Heaven! "Look, dude, you can just walk right up to them and start chomping, no effort at all!"

[@touremuhammad5983]

0:32 Pumbaa’s missing out. 😅

[@superjaded1738]

My ducks love them but we haven’t seen them this year. We had our cicada invasion a couple summers ago

[@userthe7622]

Cicadas live underground for many years until they grow wings and fly out, that’s why they are not seen every year.

[@janyceparks8326]

They're like "it's a miracle!"

[@purple_menace6604]

The cicada emergence must be a magical moment for animals. So much free protein.

[@Deeplycloseted435]

Its a great year for local birds and bats. More food than they could ever imagine.

[@janeyb4866]

this is like mcdonalds bringing back the mcrib for a limited time to these guys

[@rustyfan89]

It’s a shame they’ll have to wait 17 years for their next snack

[@q-miiproductions878]

Not every species takes that long. Annual species have much shorter lifespans.

[@kenyonbissett3512]

Thanks to all the zoo animals who participated in the cicada cleanup crew.

[@robjohnson1138]

But don’t you hate when you get the wing stuck in your throat? Worse than popcorn husks…

[@claiborneeastjr4129]

Insects are almost pure protein. We could live on insects if we could get past the "ick" factor.

[@lizmrjas5352]

cicada buffet 2024 😅

[@jonathanpeterson1984]

The meerkats REALLY liked them😂

[@videosbyjimjo8462]

Shoutout brookfield

[@brey111]

Hakuna Matata! 🐞🐛🐜🕷🦟🪲

[@thomasanderson9539]

Underrated comment😊

[@joemorgenstern9846]

@@thomasanderson9539 Gave me chills from nostalgia.

[@SeriousDragonify]

What a lovely place!

[@lgjm5562]

My lord, I have a cunning plan. What is it Baldrick? We can create so many offspring that our predators will be too full to pursue the survivors. Sometimes, Baldrick, I think you work for the enemy.

[@SuperBrand1234]

That's organic food they are getting.

[@susanscott4465]

It's a feast !!

[@9Crow]

they must like those treats how did they get in? i guess they don't mind. 😂

[@chrisfull7625]

bug eating animals are underrated!

[@johnnynephrite6147]

Animals be like "candy is falling from the sky". 😂😂😂

[@cachecow]

Soylent Green is people!!

[@casualweekday-ytshadowbang2469]

The WEF is taking notes.

[@danprovost7089]

“Piquant, with a very pleasant crunch!”

[@noahboat580]

That meerkat looks like he's enjoying them! Those are like Cheetos puffs to them I suppose

[@pisces363]

I like seeing animals feast on cicadas. I fed them to my pet box turtles. I saved money for about a month.

[@birdie2010]

Dinner is served!

[@amazingdany]

“Ooh, cicadas?” (chomp)

[@mayonnaiseeee]

thank you cicadas for the extra nutrition

[@Sunset4Semaphores]

*All you can eat; all you can eat; all you can eat!!!*

[@gnostic268]

So glad to see this. LoL I get dive bombed by these cicadas whenever I'm outside working on my yard. They are everywhere.

[@Nick9Three]

So stunning and brave

[@BeanieKing]

Mohawk monkey: “This is gawdamn delicious! What’s the occasion?!”

[@KingdomofPalestine]

Interesting! 😮😮

[@alextremaine6663]

"Man, these little guys are DELICIOUS! I can't wait 'til the batch hatches!" "Yeah! ... Hey, uh, what's your species' natural lifespan, anyway?" "'bout 12 to 15 years. Why?" "... no reason."

[@q-miiproductions878]

Annual cicadas:

[@KernelCinders]

Can't stop mother nature. =) KC

[@The_Savage_Wombat]

Mana fell from heaven.

[@danp4769]

One year we went camping it was mayfly season. They were all over. Mats of them were dead in the water. The fish were not biting at all. The fish were full.

[@Zola_6]

That’s awesome

[@n.e.nichtmaus927]

Can those meerkats train my chihuahua to do that??

[@user-du9lu4xc6t]

😊💥Wow: they be bugging 🤣

[@YAWSSSSSS]

"Waiter waiter, more cicadas please!"

[@popeye5274]

Circle of life

[@zerotodona1495]

Remember, bugs are for animals, not humans.

[@JoeBlow-fp5ng]

These things are literally everywhere in the Chicago area now. Stand still outside and hundreds of them fly right into you.

[@randbarrett8706]

Chicagoland zoo, located not in Chicago

[@pisces363]

Cicadas are God’s gift to animals that eat them.

[@jdog22c34]

Chicagoland Zoo? You mean the Brookfield Zoo

[@Alexa-uk8lj]

IT'S A FEAST!

[@justayoutuber1906]

Meerkat popcorn

[@caycayclark]

Wow

[@Dracomanser]

I'm here in Northern Ohio and still janent seen or heard one yet

[@demetriusevans4139]

Heck, I'M feasting on them!

[@kcameron819]

Somebody’s gotta eat ‘em!

[@tom11zz884]

I wonder what they taste like?

[@lanzegife]

chicken

[@JoeSlops]

Chocolate covered cherries

[@405Lenny]

Oh, yum 😋

[@deee71194]

Heck yeah!!!!!

[@danjohnston9037]

😻😻

[@streamofconsciousness5826]

It's like it rained Jujubes to the animals with no taste buds or gag reflex.

[@williaml.6922]

This video reminds me of the last time I visited a local Chinese buffet restaurant. In an attempt to get value for my money, I overate and walked to my car in considerable pain.

[@mtakawan]

Yumm yumm yummy!!!❤

[@vangu2918]

Bugs, bugs everywher, so much to eat!

[@eric2500]

Can we get them to eat lanternflies too?

[@candy.......]

Didnt know how tasty they were ill have to try them

[@dgarnett4220]

Nice eat up little ones lol cute

[@Sydroo1969]

Their food, NOT human food.

[@joshuahawrylak6819]

So they're like nature's devilled eggs.

[@whitewolf3201]

Klaus Schwab and the WEF must running that zoo.

[@drworm8212]

hakuna matata

[@jeanwonnacott2718]

That's what you do with them!!

[@joyfullone3968]

Maybe they are super tasty!😀😀

[@justgranny9601]

NOM NOM

[@therealmccoy406]

Delicious and nutritious!

[@BaggioItal]

Mmmmm

[@noahmosher6543]

Nom nom nom

[@omargonzales3]

Why they’re all dead tho?

[@chiquita683]

You will eat ze bugz!

[@mochasweet4966]

Why are all the cicadas dead?

[@DickVanWrinkle]

They’re not all dead… they’re like soccer players, they have the flop down pat

[@Jmerzio]

They onyl live for a week or two after they come out of the ground. The only purpose they have in thier adult phase is to mate, lay eggs and die. They have no defenses against predators. The defense is that they all come out of the ground at the same time and the predators cant eat them all.

[@suzmaca650]

Yummy

[@kthearcher3357]

...and they all end up with worms!

[@bonnafide2606]

Justice...😊

[@NotANiceGuy99]

Well, that's one way to control the cicada population.

[@pghurd3340]

The potato chip of the animal world.

[@evanh7072]

"the Chicagoland zoo" is not a real thing.

[@waterislife5109]

I wonder if Bill Gates is having cicadas for dinner? 🤪

[@Oneaphelion]

hes too busy plotting the demise of win10

[@cathyskaggs5030]

Aren’t they feeding them real foid

[@HarleyLuna31]

Theyre full of fungi,i pray those animals stay ok🫣

[@michaelkennedy6415]

AP - “Hint, hint. Maybe you humans should concede to our propaganda and eat bugs for protein sustenance. The WEF and UN paid us a LOT of money for this commercial message for the petty masses.

[@aryaastark9201]

Nobody said that smh

[@michaelkennedy6415]

@@aryaastark9201No kidding SMH. You’re what I call a Sheeple (Sheep people). Totally ignorant- even to what I was saying. If you’re a kid, I apologize- you never know whose making the comment.

[@BIacklce]

That's a reach

[@salazardeltoro4561]

This is the right take. I'm in KC, and just got a recommended story in my news feed out of nowhere about how cicadas are such a wonderful source of protein. Yeah, you've got people in this comment thread saying you're reaching, but they said that about a lot of things that have happened to be true and they'll be first in line to stuff their faces with bugs soon enough.

[@Jmerzio]

Youre already eating bugs any time you eat something colored red.

[@drewberry5737]

I see the birds approve.... TODD.

[@itsawonderfulknife7031]

This is an educational video courtesy of Klaus Schwab.