Betty White Paid for a Private Jet for the Audubon Aquarium

As 2021 came to an end on Friday, people all over the world mourned the loss of the iconic and beloved actress Betty White.

On Friday, December 31, 2021, Betty White passed away peacefully in her sleep. While Betty’s life and career were being remembered and celebrated one story came out in the local news that was pretty awesome.

The Audubon Aquarium of Americas announced that after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Betty White paid for a private plane to help relocate the aquariums otters and penguins to Monterey Bay Aquarium in California.

"Audubon did not find out until after the trip that Betty White had paid for a portion of the trip," Audubon spokesperson Annie Matherne told WWL. "Betty was a huge animal advocate and conservationist. She did not want any fanfare surrounding her part in the relocation; she just wanted to help how she could. We are deeply saddened by the loss of a true friend.”

Tom Dyer, who cared for the birds at the time of Hurricane Katrina at the Audubon Aquarium shared the story on his Twitter on Friday, December 31, 2021.

"I took care of the birds at the Aquarium for 21 years. After Katrina, we evacuated every animal that made it that we could. Got a call from Monterey Bay AQ. that they would take our 19 penguins and two sea otters and they had a plane in Baton Rouge ready to go. We got the animals there and boarded and I and a Vet flew with them. Asked the pilot what this was costing. I believe it was about $70,000," Dyer tweeted. "Next morning, wanted to thank the director who I knew slightly. She said a donor paid and did not want to be identified. It finally leaked years later and Betty White did it. Didn’t want anybody to know."

Betty White was not just an amazing actress, she was an amazing human being and that is visible in stories like this.

Here is a video of the Penguins returning home from California all thanks to Betty White: