The human race is disappointing and we just don’t deserve love.
We make poor choices, let our eyes and hearts wander and we let ourselves grow cold and cynical to the prospect of any real affection.
Penguins however are a different matter altogether. They are the fuzzy, waddling embodiment of love and deserve every day to be a rom-com montage of beak smooching and belly sliding.
Unlike bickering, easily-bored humans, African penguins lead a monogamous lifestyle and stick by the same mate for life.
Basically, I need to let a group of these chaps into my house to give their opinion on where my approach to romance is going so wrong.
This would be kind of like Queer Eye except with five penguins teaching a clumsy commitment-phobe how to slurp a fish down in one gulp and squark seductively.
Now a video has emerged which illustrates just how precious penguins are, and how we are just not worthy of their sweet, pure souls.
In the footage, shared by a delighted Twitter user, two loved-up African penguins can be seen enjoying a romantic waddle along a beach in South Africa.
You can watch the most romantic film clip of the year to your heart’s content below:
Perfectly content with each other’s company as the tide laps gently at the shore, the lovebirds appear to gaze out to sea for a moment, holding flippers in possibly the most adorable video you will see all day.
At one point, one of the penguins even stoops a little as if they are about to pop a very important question indeed.
It is unclear precisely where the clip was taken, however it’s thought the penguin couple were filmed at Boulders Beach, approximately 30 miles south from Cape Town.
A colony of African penguins – sometimes known as ‘jackass’ penguins due to their distinctive braying sound – know this spectacular beach as their home.
They return year after year to reconnect with their partner before building a nest and ultimately hatching their fluffy little penguin babies.
Although penguins are often associated with chilly landscapes and snow frolicking, according to BBC Nature:
African penguins are one of the few species of penguin that do not need to worry about freezing temperatures and Antarctic snow.
For Africa’s only breeding penguin, extremely high temperatures are the biggest challenge.
They live in colonies on the islands and rocky shores between Namibia and South Africa, where they spend most of the time at sea feeding on small shoaling fish such as anchovies and sardines.
The clip has been retweeted thousands of times, with the penguins blissfully oblivious to their new status as internet celebrities/ ‘absolute goals.’
Many people have fallen head over heels for the penguin couple, and have begun to cast a worried eye over their own sorry love lives.
One person lamented:
It’s been a solid minute since I’ve even held hands with anyone… These penguins got it made.
Another sighed:
These penguins out strolling the beach. Can’t even get a txt back smh.
I for one find this couple much more genuine and watchable than many of the ones I’m seeing on Love Island right now…
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.