Love is often said to know no distance, and one couple in Croatia serves as a remarkable example of this sentiment. For the past 17 years, a devoted stork named Klepetan has been traveling thousands of kilometers to visit his disabled partner, Malena.
The story of Klepetan and Malena began many years ago in Brodski Varos in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1993, Stjepan Vokić, a widower living in Croatia, took in a female stork who had been shot by hunters and named her Malena. He was able to tame her to the point where, as he claims, they even watch television together. After some time, a suitor named Klepetan began visiting Malena at the nest built on the rooftop, and their relationship blossomed.
Continue reading A Love Story for the Ages: The Devoted Stork Who Flies Thousands of Kilometers to Visit his Disabled Partner