International Journal of Advanced Sport Sciences Research

ASSR is an open access journal, aims at rapid publication of concise research papers of a broad interest in Physical education fields. Subject areas include all the current fields of interest represented by the Committees of the Design Scientific Renaissance. ASSR welcomes papers and articles in sport and physical education, fields of ASSR includes but not limited to: sport for all; Exercise physiology; Moths of training and coaching;Sport’s performance and analysis

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Story behind photo of penguins hugging in front of Melbourne skyline

by Rachel Ostermann (2021-07-02)

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A photo of two penguins cuddling up while watching the bright lights of the Melbourne skyline has won an international award after the photographer revealed the heartbreaking story of loss behind the image.

The image of the pair embracing on a rock as they surveyed the city lights in front of them was named the winner of worldwide sea life photography competition the Ocean Photography Awards.

Tobias Baumgaertner's incredible photo was chosen over eye-catching shots including mighty polar bears clambering over a snowy landscape, fish swimming through reefs and a diver venturing into an ocean cave.

Baumgaertner told how the pair of penguins were actually widowed and would spend hours at a time comforting the other through their grief.

Two penguins seemingly comfort one another in Melbourne, Australia as they look over to the lights of the city.

Tobias Baumgaertner snapped the touching moment in St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne, and the photograph made the news when he shared it on his Instagram, writing that the two penguins were widowed. The photo was selected in the Community Choice Award category

'A volunteer approached me and told me that the white one was an elderly lady who had lost her partner and apparently so did the younger male to the left,' he wrote on Instagram.

'Since then they meet regularly comforting each other and standing together for hours watching the dancing lights of the nearby city.'

He said it took him three nights living alongside a penguin colony to get the perfect shot.

'Between not being able or allowed to use any lights and the tiny penguins continuously moving, rubbing their flippers on each other's backs and cleaning one another, it was really hard to get a shot,' he said.

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'But i got lucky during one beautiful moment. During times like this the truly lucky ones are those that can be with the person/people they love most.'

The competition also captures a darker side of our oceans. 

Humans are affecting marine wildlife more than ever, with plastic pollution harming fish and animals across the seas.

Shocking photos show sharks being throttled by rubbish and hermit crabs stuck in cans and coffee cups.

The awards aim to show 'devastating photographs detailing the horrors of plastic pollution on the ocean and its inhabitants to the inspiring images of wildlife thriving in their natural habitat'.  

A Humpback whale calf 'waves to the camera' off the coast of Tonga. Tongan waters are birthing and mating grounds for a specific population of humpback whales, which means they are around for months each year, making it the perfect place for while watching.

Jono Allen took this photograph that has been entered into the Community Choice Award category

A polar bear scans the ocean for prey in Svalbard, Norway.

Around 3,000 polar bears live around the northern archipelago, which exceeds that of the human population. Florian Ledoux captured this polar bear as it made its way over the top of the ice in search of food. The photograph has been entered into the Exploration Photographer of the Year category

A pair of pan-tropical spotted dolphins ride the pressure wave of a pygmy blue whale, near Sri Lanka.

The pygmy blue whale is a subspecies of the blue whale found in the Indian Ocean and the southern Pacific Ocean, and can reach lengths of up to 78ft (24 metres). Scott Wilson's photograph has been entered into the Adventure Photographer of the Year category

King penguins march through heavy snow in St.

Andrew's Bay in the South Atlantic island of South Georgia. The island is home to around seven million penguins and is the world's most important penguin breeding area. At the height of breeding season, South Georgia is said to be home to more wildlife per square foot than any other place on the planet.
This photo, by Ben Cranke, has been entered in the Exploration Photographer of the Year category

Drone image captures walrus huddle in Svalbard, Norway - an archipelago in the northern Arctic Ocean between Norway and the North Pole.

The Walrus is the largest seal species in the arctic and the second largest in the world. These walrus inhabit the island that is one of the world's northernmost inhabited areas on the planet. This photograph, taken by Florian Ledoux, has been entered into the Conservation Photographer of the Year category

A clown fish brushes up against silky tentacles in the South Maldives, a small archipelagic island country in South Asia, situated in the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean. This photo, taken by Cruz Erdmann, has been entered into the Young Photographer of the Year category

Three spinetail devil rays, also known as the spinetail mobula ray or Japanese mobula ray, engage in sexual courtship in the Philippines.

The rays can grow up to a width of 10ft (3.1 meters). Taken by Duncan Murrell, this photograph has been entered into the Adventure Photographer of the Year category

Silky sharks swim off Cuba's Garden of the Queen, or 'Jardines de la Reina' in Spanish.

The island is an archipelago in the southern part of Cuba, in the provinces of Camagüey and Ciego de Ávila. It was named by Christopher Columbus to honour the Queen of Spain, Isabella I of Castile. A large area of the archipelago became a marine reserve in 1996. Ron Watkins' photograph has been entered into the Adventure Photographer of the Year category

Paddle boarders float above the reef in the Kingdom of Tonga.

The country is made up of more than 170 South Pacific islands, many uninhabited, most lined in white beaches and coral reefs and covered with tropical rainforest. It is home to some of the most unique and extensive coral reefs that cover over 370,000 acres. This photo, taken by Grant Thomas, has been entered into the Adventure Photographer of the Year category

A anemone fish, or clown fish, gazes in horror at a ghost fishing net that lays over the top of a coral reef in the Philippines.  The Philippines has over six million acres of reef systems.

This photograph, taken by Henley Spiers, has been entered into the Conservation Photographer of the Year category

Surfer rides a wave at Shipstern Bluff in Tasmania.

Waves at the bluff can reach up to nine meters tall, making it one of the most sought-after spots for surfers in the world. This photograph, taken by Lance Morgan, has been entered into the Adventure Photographer of the Year category

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