beautiful pictures of 2 penguins with a bittersweet backstory

[orleans]

https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-55416365


"The year 2020 has produced many poignant and powerful photographs.

"But a shot of two widowed penguins appearing to comfort one another in Australia has been picked out as one of the winners in Oceanographic magazine's Ocean Photography Awards.

"The photo was taken by Tobias Baumgaertner in Melbourne.

"He was told that the two penguins had recently lost their partners and often appeared to be comforting each other.

"The German photographer won the magazine's Community Choice Award."

"St Kilda Pier in Melbourne has a colony of around 1,400 fairy penguins, the smallest penguin species with an average height of just 33cm (13 inches). The colony is monitored by volunteers.

"A volunteer approached me and told me that the white one was an elderly lady who had lost her partner and apparently so did the younger male to the left," Mr Baumgaertner wrote on Instagram.

"Since then they meet regularly, comforting each other and standing together for hours watching the dancing lights of the nearby city."

"The photographer spent three nights with the penguin colony before being able to catch this photo, he said."

this was on fb with a couple other pictures attached







"The lighter penguin is an elderly female whose partner died this year. The darker one is a younger male who lost his partner two years ago. Biologists have followed them as they meet every night to comfort each other. They stand for hours together watching the lights. Photographer Tobias Baumgaertner captured this image of two widowed fairy penguins looking over the Melbourne skyline. It has won an award in Oceanographic magazine’s Ocean Photography Awards 2020."

[Walleye]

1. Wow. Being a widow myself, I can really relate to these two

[PufPuf23]

2. We should all be as pure of heart. Thank you kr.

[MustLoveBeagles]

3. Very sweet photos

Thank you for posting.

[electric_blue68]

4. I love that photo... the are fairy, or little blue penguins...

the smallest of the species.

[StarryNite]

5. Amazing photos and story.

It really tugs at the heartstrings.

[Bayard]

6. Who says animals don't exhibit empathy?

This is so sadly sweet.....

[herding cats]

7. Not me.

I've witnessed it in real-time.

Animals mourn, and I've seen others comfort them. It's a reminder we're not as superior as we want to assume.

This level, into more than a year now, truly breaks my heart.

[Bayard]

9. They will also empathize with humans

Even if we don't deserve it.

[PatrickforB]

8. It touches the heart.

Thank you.