Senior woman stopping to chat with a curious penguin in the middle of a parking lot is winning hearts

Editor's note: This article was originally published on December 17, 2022. It has since been updated.

Penguins are extremely intelligent creatures, despite the belief that they are socially awkward. They are highly capable animals that can be trained/conditioned, are self-aware, utilize tools and interact with one another, and may even create complex communities and hierarchies in groupings. Besides, due to their charming hobbies and humorous antics, penguins have become fairly popular on social media. These Southern Hemisphere-based creatures have been shown to be extremely interactive once they come into contact with a human. A video of a lovely young penguin chatting with an elderly woman, via Firstpost, has been making rounds on the internet. The footage was shot in France and shared on Twitter by a user named Gabriele Corno.

The footage begins with an elderly woman moving slowly through the parking lot. When the lady arrived in an empty space, the small penguin unexpectedly approached to greet her. However, she did not appear surprised by the unexpected visitor and greeted the flightless bird with due kindness. The woman then proceeded to converse with the penguin in her native language, French, as heard in the video. In answer, the short-legged pal gave full attention and truly listened to everything. Translating those into English, the lady said, “Oh, you’re so lovely and I love you. You are my best friend. I adore you a lot. Let me kiss you. You are amazing. Around here, I like you the most.”

The penguin, on the other hand, appeared to be quite interested in the red umbrella that the lady was holding in her hands. The bird followed her and poked its bill at the parasol as she was ready to depart. "What do you want from my umbrella?" the lady inquired. "Are you going to be here tomorrow?" and bid farewell to the fleeting friendship. The post's caption said, "Exchange of views in a parking lot." The delightful meeting surely charmed the audience. A number of users speculated in the comments section about the penguin's fascination with the umbrella. One user penned, “This is adorable but I also believe the bird just thinks her umbrella is a fine-looking penguin.” Another user observed that the penguin was an endangered one, which is quite rare.

However, this is not the only instance where penguins were extremely clever and intelligent. Lala, the ultimate adorable housemate goes to the fish market all by himself with his little penguin-friendly backpack. The family took Lala to the market for the first time, but he had so much fun that he continued returning. As a result, the family decided to teach him how to go to the market on his own. A penguin living in a Japanese town among people, let alone waddling around it to do some shopping, was as unusual in the 1990s as it is now. When Lala was 10, Animal Planet filmed his shopping trip. As part of his everyday ritual, Lala ventures into the streets of Japan in quest of fish. He enters the market, where the excited fish seller serves a huge fish to regular customers. She even knew what Lala liked — sardines and mackerel.

"He loves to eat them. He is adorable," the woman stated in the documentary. Lala returned home after filling up at the fish market and spent some quality time with the Nishimotos, who gave him soothing rubs under his chin. Unfortunately, Lala passed away in 1998 but her legacy; that is, her frequent trips to the fish market is still alive on the internet, even today. One user on Reddit wrote, "If I worked in a fish store and a penguin just walked around the corner and into my store, you bet your ass I would give him a fish."