
Nuzzling up together on the frosty ground in the Falkland Islands, this might seem like the most unlikely of friendships.

But this herd of horses took in a lonely penguin as one of their own and snuggled up with their curious new companion.

They were also seen playfully chasing after the bird as it stretched out its wings and waddled along the white-topped turf.

The horses also craned their necks and touched their noses with the penguin's beak in the heart-warming snaps.

Scroll down for video

Two horses adopt this lost penguin into their group after he was spotted waddling alone just outside Stanley, in the Falkland Islands

A puzzled horse inspects his peculiar new campaign after he went missing in the Cape Pembrokeshire Nature Reserve, in the Falklands

A playful horse cosies up with this lonely penguin in this series of heart-warming pictures taken by Sarah Crofts

In a scene that could come straight from a Disney movie, the horse rears his neck to catch a closer look of his new found friend

Sarah Crofts, of the Falklands Conservation group, took the pictures when she spotted the unusual alliance as she was feeding her three horses.

They were taken at the Cape Pembrokeshire Nature Reserve, five miles outside of Stanley, the country's capital city.

She said: 'At first I couldn't believe what I was seeing, I think the horses were as shocked as I was.

'I didn't think the horses would take much notice of the penguin but I couldn't believe how fascinated they were with it. I'm really enthusiastic about horses and penguins so it was an incredible moment to witness.

'Horses in Stanley don't normally have contact with penguin so it must have been a real novelty for them.

'At first the herd approached the penguin slowly and with their heads low so they could check him out at eye level.

'But it didn't take long for the horses to become braver and soon they were nose to beak, it was such a lovely moment.

She added: 'The horses were genuinely curious about the penguin and it seemed to turn into a game for them where they'd check him out one by one and then run off.

'After a while it was as if the horses didn't want to let the penguins out of their sights.'

The Falklands is one of the world's great penguin capitals. There are five penguin species on the islands, including king, rockhopper, magellanic, gentoo and macaroni penguins.

Around 500,000 breeding pairs of penguins live on the island, home to a rich array of wildlife.

The horse touches his nose with the penguin's beak - the scene was spotted by Sarah Crofts as she was fed her three horses

Horses on the frosty ground of the Cape Pembrokeshire Nature Reserve befriend the lonely and lost penguin