Picture of Two Widowed Penguins Comforting Each Other Wins Photography Award, 5 Adorable & Funny Penguin Moments of 2020 That Went Viral (See Pics & Videos)

A photo of two fairy penguins watching the skyline at the end of the St Kilda Pier in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia had gone viral on social media earlier this year. The photographer Tobias Baumgaertner was praised for capturing the moment. After garnering the popular vote on the internet, it recently won the Community Choice award. The photo is of two widowed penguins comforting each other while staring into the distance at Melbourne's St. Pier has now bagged a prize at Oceanographic magazine's Ocean Photograph Awards 2020. And with that, we are reminded of other penguin photos and videos that went viral. So, here, we bring to you a list of penguin moments that had the heart of the internet.

Meanwhile, talking about the award-winning photo, Tobias said that a volunteer had told him that the penguins had lost their partners. They were often spotted comforting each other and standing together for hours. Tobias said he spent 3 nights with the penguin colony to get the perfect shot.

Penguin Photo That Won the Award:

1. Penguin at the Beluga Whale Exhibit

Video of a little Rockhopper penguin in Wellington, strolling in front of the Beluga whale tank had gone viral earlier this year. The whales Kayavak, Mauyak and Annik can be seen staring at the visitor in Wellington. The penguin from Chicago's Shedd Aquarium visited the aquarium as it was shut due to COVID-19 induced lockdown.

2. Rare White Penguin in Galapagos Island

An extremely-rare white penguin was spotted in Galapagos Islands recently. The bird is believed to be the first in the history of the islands. It was filmed by guide Jimmy Patino when he was giving a guide to tourists at Punta Vicente Roca site on Isabela Island.

3. Penguin Pierre Gets Over Loneliness by Watching 'Pingu'

A Northern Rockhopper penguin was isolated due to deteriorating health conditions and shifted to rehabilitation at the Perth Zoo. But eventually, the penguin became very lonely due to loneliness. So, the zookeepers used an iPad to live-stream footage at Kansas Zoo in America and Edinburgh Zoo iN Scotland to keep Pierre. The video of the penguin watching 'Pingu' the animated series had gone viral.

4. The Royal Walk of Penguins

As people had to sit at home due to the lockdown, animals roamed freely on the streets across countries. A video of penguins walking royally on the streets on Africa had gone viral on social media platforms. The South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) had posted the video on Twitter showing the birds waddling on the streets of Simon's Town outside Cape Town.

5. Penguins on Chicago's NFL Ground:

Four penguins namely Izzy, Darwin, Tombo and Charlotte visited American football and soccer stadium recently and it was a show to watch. The birds walked across Chicago's NFL Ground owning the place. The video went viral with people exclaiming how adorable they were.

There were quite a lot of penguin moments that went viral this year. Penguins walking are often made into GIFs for their cute walking patterns. While these are some of the videos, plenty of funny penguin videos also went viral this year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 23, 2020 01:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).