What do you do when you’re feeling lonely? You might snuggle with your pet, or talk to a friend. Those who live alone can find themselves looking for some kind of companionship. Especially if they live in rural areas, where they aren’t very close to other people.
One man accidentally stumbled on a relationship with an interesting creature after living alone in the woods for quite some time.
Seppo Laamanen, a 65-year-old resident of what was once Punkaharju, Finland. The municipality has now been consolidated into the nearby town of Savonlinna.
With less than 4,000 people in the town, Seppo doesn’t see people often. He mostly keeps to himself, living his life out in the woods.
One winter day, he went outside and found an otter sitting on his porch. This otter looked hungry and cold and begged for food.
The man decided to give the small otter a meal of fish and worms to help with his malnourishment. It was love at first bite. Ever since that meal, the otter comes to visit on a regular basis.
The two have developed a close relationship and sometimes wander around the woods together.
Every day, Seppo waits on his porch for the otter to arrive.
He won’t go back inside until the otter appears. As the two started spending time together, the man started feeling less lonely and had something to look forward to each day.
They have the sweetest bond!
Sometimes, the water-dwelling mammal stays for his meal. Other days, he eats and runs back to the frigid waters. The otter never disappoints Seppo and always shows up on his porch.
One day, Seppo decided he would name his otter friend. He started calling him Iivari, which is Finnish for “bow warrior”.
They have become attached to each other in a beautiful and inspiring way.
Word started to spread about Seppo and Iivari’s unusual connection. They started to receive visitors who wanted to see how the two interacted. At first, these visitors came from the nearby town.
But once the story spread over the internet, people from all over came to see how these two connected!
While Iivari feels close to Seppo, he feels shy around other people and burrows into the snow to hide from them. He won’t come out unless Seppo calls for him. Amazingly, Iivari responds well to any commands given.
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The story of their friendship soon spread all over the world, and they were featured on the YouTube Channel Story Trender. The video now has well over 2 million views, and it deserves every one of them!
Seppo never expected his small act of offering food to a hungry critter to become such a close friendship. From that connection, he has met people from all over the world who wanted to see their bond. Hopefully, he feels less lonely now than he did before!
Best of all? He now has a little furry friend who never fails to show up for him. Hopefully, their friendship lasts for life!
Watch the heartwarming relationship in the video below.
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