Penguin Swims 5,000 Miles Each Year To See The Man Who Saved Its Life

Sep 21, 2018 by apost team

People are falling in love with one adorable penguin. This heartwarming story began back in 2011. At the time, Joao Pereira de Souza was a part-time fisherman and retired bricklayer. He was out on a beach in Rio de Janeiro when he discovered something completely unexpected.

As Joao walked along the beach, he discovered a tiny penguin. The poor penguin was lying on the rocks and covered in oil. It was clearly close to dying but Joao couldn't just leave it behind. He quickly worked to clean the oil off of the penguin. After a diet of daily fish, the penguin slowly started to recover.

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Joao named the beloved bird Dindim. After a week with Joao, Dindim had recovered completely. Then, Joao tried to release Dindim back into the ocean.

The penguin did not want to go.

Ultimately, the penguin decided to live with Joao for another 11 months. Finally, the penguin's coat changed. Once the new feathers arrived, the bird disappeared. Joao assumed that Dindim had returned to his penguin colony for good. He was sad to lose Dindim, but happy that he had returned to his friends. To his surprise, Dindim was not gone forever.

A few months later, Dindim reappeared on the beach. He followed Joao home again and stayed for eight months. Since that time, Dindim has returned to Joao every year. He spends a portion of the year with Joao and another part of the year breeding with fellow penguins. This means that the tiny penguin swims 5,000 miles every year to return to the man who once saved his life.

For Joao, Dindim is a beloved part of his family. Dindim feels like a child. It is clear that Dindim loves Joao because Joao is the only person who can touch him. If someone else touches Dindim, he pecks at their hands. When he is with Joao, Dindim lays on his lap and eats sardines from his hand.

You can see in the video just how much this penguin loves his hero.

If this video warmed your heart, make sure to tell everyone about it!