The storks of Vaake are the only breeding couple in the entire North Hessian area, so it's not an overstatement to say they have celebrity status here. Things looked good when both the male and the female arrived in early spring this year, they hatched, and later had babies. Then it happened: One day, the male stork got hit by a car and died. This alone is sad enough, but since one stork alone is not able to care for the offspring, the little ones died as well. Now there's only the female left - and no one knows if she will come back again next year with a new partner.

The death of the stork touched many peoples's hearts. I was easpecially heartbroken because the weeks prior to the accident, I had many encounters with the stork in the fields during my lunch breaks, and I took many pics. Now these pics are all that is left of this beautiful, impressive animal, who came here from Africa in hope to found a family, but instead, he found death...