There’s a new contender for cutest photo series on the internet. One photographer has spent five years sharing the incredible images she documented of a flourishing friendship between Ingo, a German shepherd dog, and Poldi, an owl.
The unlikely pair make for fascinating photo subjects. It turns out that when hatching, Poldi almost didn’t make it out of his shell, with Ingo taking on the responsibility of protecting him.
Based in Germany, Tanja Brandt is the nature photographer behind the amazing series. Clearly, she also has a great bond with the animals, given how comfortably they appear to pose for her. Speaking to PetaPixel, Brandt sadly revealed that Poldi passed away six months ago:
We made an emergency operation, but couldn’t rescue him. It was a shock for Ingo and me. Afterwards, we got Ronja, a young female little owl, and she is so cheeky and so similar to Poldi. Poldi’s wife, Finchen, got a new man (Martin)… she didn’t eat after Poldi died. So, Ingo and Finchen are a bit happy again. We will never forget our little Poldi. But I think Poldi sent Ronja to us. Ronja loved Ingo from the very first moment.
It’s safe to say Ingo and Poldi’s years together were greatly documented, and the bond captured forever. See for yourself below.
You can find more of Brandt’s work on her website and her Instagram.
All images by Tanja Brandt and used with permission.
This gets my vote for images that make me smile. Owls and dogs....how can it get any better? Just terrific!!
Honestly!
This is great!
I love the natural poses, it's simply amazing. The car and traveling suitcase are a bit too much for my taste
Driving Ms. Daisy cracks me up. Just like all the Subaru commercials with the puppies. Yea I am a dog lover so what. The other photos are incredible and gets my vote.
Love it.
@Jack Alexander its a Malinois. Do your homework first ;), na its ok I only know it because I have the same
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malinois_dog
I am pretty sure these aren't the same owl in all the photos. Once collecting owls and photographing them together with dogs becomes a business model it starts to get questionable for me. Hope I'm not wrong and making an ass out of myself.
So she has a pet owl and poses it for photos. In my opinion it's unethical. Owls belong in the wild, no matter how cute they are. And that she replaced it to continue her fake wildlife photography shows that she had no scruples.
It seems the owls were rescues. Many times, a rescue cannot be returned to the wild. If that's the case, it was the humane thing to do.