Rejected penguin has found new outlook on life with cutout of anime character

Love is a fickle thing, and that's true for both humans and penguins.

Grape is a Humboldt penguin who lives in the Tobu Zoo in Japan. He was once in a relationship with Midori, a female Humboldt penguin, but he was tragically dumped when Midori left him for a younger penguin.

But Grape's story doesn't end in heartbreak because there's a new girl in his life. The only thing is the girl is a cutout of an anime character.

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Kemono Friends is a Japanese anime franchise featuring a group of zoo animals who have been turned into girls. One of those girls, named Hululu, resembles a Humboldt penguin.

According to Buzzfeed, a cutout of Hululu was placed in the penguins' zoo enclosure as part of a collaboration with Kemono Friends. Little did zookeepers realize what an impact Hululu's image would have on Grape.

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Zoo staff told Buzzfeed that while it was hard to confirm whether Grape was developing feelings for Hululu, his nesting habits certainly indicate that he likes to be around the cutout. He tends to gravitate towards the location in his enclosure where the cutout was installed.

Grape's infatuation has become a viral story, inspiring fan art and GIFs. It even made its way to Hululu's voice actor, who actually paid Grape a visit. Grape seemed very thrilled.

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While being in love with a cutout is much, much different than being in love with another live member of your same species, we are still glad that Grape has found something to bring him joy during the dark time of post-breakup life.