Croatian and international animal lovers were sad due to the tragic loss earlier in July of 2021when the beloved stork Malena (a Croatian word that can be roughly be translated as little one when talking to/about a female) passed away.
As many already know, Malena was the stork Guillette to Klepetan, a male stork who would always return to her in the Slavonian village of Brodski Varoš, located not too far from Slavonski Brod.
The love birds filled Croatian and global news outlets for nineteen years and it all started with Brodski Varoš resident Stjepan Vokić. He found Malena in 1993. Her wing had been shot through, and Vokić rescued her. Vokić’s nurturing saved her life, but Malena couldn’t fly anymore and, unlike many storks flying south every year, had to stay in the village forever. This makes Klepetan’s return every year after the two first met in 2002 all the more interesting, showing animals have both love and loyalty humans could learn a lot from.
So much so, it inspired a documentary film produced in 2020 and titled ”The Storkman”.
”The story of a retired and widowed man from Slavonski Brod amazed many, kept our hearts warm and returned a feeling of hope that man and nature still have sympathy for each other and that the love between humans and animals can withstand even the biggest obstacles in their way,” reads the movie description on Culturenet.
The director of the film is Tomislav Jelinčić, whom the Croatian audience know best as a journalist, editor, and TV host at RTL television.
The movie premiered in Croatian cinemas back in May 2021, but now you can also watch it online with English subtitles on Vimeo on demand.
Taking the focus away from solely being about Malena and Klepetan’s love story, the film promises to reveal more about the nurturing of Malena herself.
Storks are beloved guests at Lonjsko Polje. Learn more on our TC page.
For more about animals in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.
