People have different definitions of love but most would agree that it really doesn’t have limitations. We hear about the many different stories that show love standing the test of time or perhaps spanning great distances. We experience it with our children, with our friend, and with our mates. It is something that makes life worth living and it continues to inspire many of the things we enjoy, including movies and music.
As it turns out, humans are not the only ones to have love in their hearts and they are not the only species that practice monogamy. That is clear when you see this pair of storks that will not let anything come between the way they feel for each other. If there was ever a pair that was truly in love, it is this couple and thanks to technology, you get to see it right in front of your own eyes. It is a love story that inspires people all around the world and it is sure to inspire you as well.
It all started 25 years ago when Stjephan Vokic found an injured female stork. She had a badly damaged wing because someone had shot her illegally.
Stjephan started to care for the bird, bringing her fish from the pond and building her a nest. During the winter, he creates an ‘improvised Africa’, complete with a nest, aquarium, and heating in his garage.
I also take her fishing since I can’t take her to Africa. We even watch TV together. If I had left her in the pond foxes would have eaten her. But I changed her fate, so now I’m responsible for her life.
Over time, he formed a close bond with Malena, his name for the stork. It means “little one” in Croatian. One day, a male stork was migrating home from South Africa and he saw the nest on top of Stjephan’s home.
It was true love from the start.
The male, Klepetan is able to make the migration every year but Melena can’t due to her injury.
You would think that this would put out the flame of love but every year, Klepetan flys some 5,000 miles alone to South Africa and then returns home again.
It has been 15 years and this couple has raised 62 babies together. Klepetan teaches them how to fly before migrating every year.
Stjepan set up a video camera to share this love story with others. It includes a live stream of the nest. Millions of people watch the streaming love story and the return of Klepetan to the nest in March.
One year, Klepetan was late coming home and Stjepan was fearing that the worst had happened. After all, storks face many dangers on their flight path, including starvation, hunters, and predators.
Stjepan is now an advocate for ending the hunting of storks. He even wrote an open lever to Michel Aoun, the president of Lebanon to ask for protection during the migration.
Just like the previous fifteen autumns, Klepetan will commence his journey to Africa and will once more fly over Lebanon. Unfortunately, I cannot go with him to protect him, but I am sending you this letter written with his feather, in order to implore you, to use the power your esteemed position brings and do everything you can in order to ensure that migratory bird protection laws remain in effect and that they are applied to their fullest extent. I am also sending you Klepetan’s feather because I believe that the feather is mightier than the sword.
As it turns out, Klepetan was just a few days late that year.
It is not known if the president of Lebanon has seen or heard the letter but one thing hasn’t changed; Malena and Klepetan are a true love story. We look forward to seeing more in the future.
You can watch Stjepan reading his letter in this video: