Klepetan, a male stork, is flying from South Africa to Croatia yearly to mate with his partner Malena, a female handicapped stork.
Their love story has captured the hearts of Croatians and has also been gaining traction from millions of people around the world. People are particularly invested on how Klepetan surmounts the dangerous journey from South Africa, flying through Somalia, and then over the Iraqi desert, just to be with Malena in Croatia.
To date, Klepetan and Malena already have 62 babies together even if they had to go through the test of infidelity back in 2017. Klepetan's dedication is especially remarkable because a 2016 study found that white storks have started changing their migratory path because they prioritize to feed on landfills along the way.
Croatian Storks Love Story
Klepetan and Malena met on a rooftop of a small house in a village in Croatia. At the time, Malena can no longer fly after being shot by Italian hunters.
Croatian Stjepan Vokic, a 71-year-old widower, has taken Malena under his care since 1993. He keeps her in a storage building where she has everything she needs: a made-up nest, heating, and an aquarium. During spring, Vokic sees to it that he builds Malena a big nest on the roof of the building.
Yearly, it is the same place where Klepetan finds his sweetheart. Malena, as well as locales of the small town, wait for him during March.
In the early years of being together, Klepetan had always made it to Croatia not later than March 24. In 2017, however, the month passed by without him visiting Malena.
By the time he reached their nest in April, Malena was already with another male stork. Klepetan fought for her. Vokic said he had injuries and blood all over his wings after the brawl. Nevertheless, he won Malena's heart back again.
Klepetan and Malena Together Again
Perhaps traumatized by what had happened in 2017, he made it on time this year. He arrived in Croatia on March 24. However, people said that he already looked older, more tired, and dirtier than before.
Klepetan is staying with Malena until August. By then, he will have migrated back to South Africa with some of their kids.
Hopefully, he will make it back again in 2019 and would not be distracted, unlike the other white storks that no longer migrate from Europe to Africa.
Change In Migratory Habit
A study in the journal Movement Ecology on March 16, 2016, revealed that white storks have changed their migratory habit. Many of them were found to be living in Spain and Portugal the whole year round, feeding on landfill sites.
According to the study, it has been the case since the mid-1980s primarily because of human influences and global environmental change.
