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Video Clip Of Penguin Couple 'Holding Hands' Goes Viral

Video Clip Of Penguin Couple 'Holding Hands' Goes Viral

Watch this super cute video of two penguins holding hands - scientists say that they form lifelong bonds that can last 15 years

Mike Wood

Mike Wood

I don't know about you, but I think my day would be mightily improved by watching a video of two penguins holding hands.

Lucky then, that this video of two penguins holding hands exists to brighten things up as we continue our slow trudge towards the relief of the weekend.

It's only 47 seconds long, but it's 47 seconds of pure joy: two penguins, strolling down the beach arm in arm - like an elderly couple leaving a gala ball in their fancy clothes, who have decided to take a romantic stroll down the beach but are a little too drunk to walk comfortably on sand.

Am I reading too much into this?

Apparently not, according to scientists. Penguins are some of the most monogamous animals out there, with proven relationships that have lasted decades between the fishy, feathery (literal) lovebirds.

via GIPHY

A couple of Magellanic penguins, native to South America, are documented as having spent over 16 years as a couple - enviable for most humans - including incidences where the pair travelled a full 200,000 miles separately from each other, only to reunite at the same nest to have chick, according to the Telegraph.

Given that penguins only really live until the age of 20 (if they're lucky), that's a huge proportion of their lives to spend with each other.

"The bond they have is incredible really," said Dr Pablo Garcia Borboroglu, President of the Global Penguin Society (which is apparently a thing) to the newspaper in 2012.

"It is unbelievable how far Magellanic penguins swim - and each breeding season they come back to the same nest and to the same partner."

Researchers tracked penguins across a span of 30 years, following them from their homes in Argentina all over the world, only to see them repeatedly return and find the same penguin partners.

Even then, 16 years is very impressive, the University of Washington's Dr Dee Boersma told the newspaper: "Many pairs stay together for five or even ten years. The fate of most penguin chicks is to die - they get eaten by predators or simply starve as their parents don't bring them enough food."

Another study, carried out by researcher Jean-Baptiste Thiebot, says penguin couples guard their chicks, with one taking on security duty while the other travelled up to 100 miles a day in search of food for their young.

"In these extremely faithful animals - the pair bonds for breeding may last all life long in this species - the partners may actually be separated by hundreds to thousands of kilometres at sea," said Thiebot.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Videos, Cute, penguins, Animals