While mother stork is brooding, father stork brings her a blanket to keep her warm.

It’s well knowledge that a stork couple tends to their young. However, a new image taken by wildlife photographer Silke Feser shows a romantic interaction between birds that has won people over all over the world.

In the picture, a male stork is shown on a chilly morning carrying his partner something that looks like a blanket. He stands next to her, holding a big leaf or a piece of cloth in his beak, while she mopes on the nest.

Conversations about animal behaviour and the possibility of empathy in non-human species have been triggered by this endearing scene. The image unquestionably conveys a sense of concern and camaraderie, even though the exact motivation for the male stork’s gesture is still up for interpretation.

The monogamous unions and shared parenting responsibilities of storks are well-known. When the eggs hatch, both parents alternate in laying eggs and providing food for the young. Feser’s picture might perhaps show the male stork doing his job of keeping the female he is incubating warm on a chilly morning.

But the image speaks to something deeper than that: a fundamental sense of comfort and the need to support one’s spouse.

Silke Feser’s image provides a unique look into the sensitivity that can exist in the animal realm, regardless of whether it’s an intentional act of affection or just an instinctive reaction. It serves as a reminder that even seemingly basic species have feelings and behave in ways that are similar to our own.