Many have fallen in love with the story of the widowed penguins finding comfort in each other while gazing out at the Melbourne skyline and we are here to tell you it is REAL!!!
Melbourne, Australia (28 October 2020) – The viral image of two penguins watching the Melbourne skyline has captured hearts around the world. The image is being shared on social media yet again but the story has a few people sceptical about its authenticity.
We did some digging and found the real story and it is just as beautiful as social media makes it sound!
The story is this… Photographer Tobias Baumgaertner captured the Pixar-like image in 2019 after witnessing the two penguins perched upon a rock seemingly looking out at the Melbourne skyline.
He was so taken with their love for each other, commenting on how they stood there for hours while all the other penguins in the colony slept below them.
“During times like this, the truly lucky ones are those that can be with the person/people they love most. I captured this moment about a year ago. These two Fairy penguins poised upon a rock overlooking the Melbourne skyline were standing there for hours, flipper in flipper, watching the sparkling lights of the skyline and ocean. 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. Since then they meet regularly comforting each other and standing together for hours watching the dancing lights of the nearby city.
I spend 3 full nights with this penguin colony until I was able to get this picture. Between not being able or allowed to use any lights and the tiny penguins continuously moving, rubbing their flippers on each other’s backs and cleaning one another, it was really hard to get a shot but I got lucky during one beautiful moment. I hope you enjoy this moment as much as I did.”
The story has many feeling warm and fuzzy inside. It is a very heartwarming one and has popped up a few times in the last few months. Tobias has even gone on to share an accompanying video of the pair preening each other.
View this post on Instagram