In 1993 a school janitor, Stjepan Vokić rescued a female white stork with a broken wing — she had been shot by hunters and couldn’t fly. Vokić named her Malena, meaning “little one,” and he took care of her until her death in 2021.
In the spring of 2001 a male stork saw her on her rooftop nest and mated with her, and they had chicks. He and the children would fly to South Africa in the fall, and he would return to Malena in the spring. Vokić named him Klepetan, and the couple became famous as a symbol of love and fidelity.
Here are a few of videos about them:
The following video is in Croatian, but it shows a bit more of the chicks, and I love the part where Vokić is fishing in the rain for Malena, and the scene where they are watching stork videos together.
June 26, 2026
What an amazing story. Thanks for sharing this
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…nature and humanity can be amazing.
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I agree, that’s a very sweet story.
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Awww, we saw a documentary that is so similar to this!
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I love people like this man!
Me too! 🙂
What a beautiful story!
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Such a beautiful story.
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Truly a love story.
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Wow, this story is wonderful. Thank you for sharing it.
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So sweet!