Bloody fight between a penguin's husband and her lover fires up Twitter

These penguins weren't playing after they got into a bloody punch-up over a woman. Photo / National Geographic

Forget Happy Feet. There's nothing sweet and cuddly about this brutal furry battle, which ensued after one penguin tried to stop his love running off with another er, penguin rival.

A three-minute video tweeted out by National Geographic Wild as a part of its Animal Fight Night series features the brutal struggle of one lonely penguin battling to reclaim his wife's love.

A fight breaks out when a husband comes home and finds his wife with another penguin. pic.twitter.com/9ejYGcJ5TJ

— Nat Geo Channel (@NatGeoChannel) November 4, 2016

And is always the way, social media has jumped on the punch-up and turned it into an online soap opera.

The video begins detailing the penguins' September flocking and breeding habits.

"Life here is good," says the narrator, "but this husband has come home to find his wife with another penguin. He flips out. His strategy is simple: batter the homewrecker."

YOU'RE NOT EVEN MY REAL DAD pic.twitter.com/7NiCLK9xMX

— Anne B (@abroshar) November 6, 2016

My spirit animal is that lil penguin that fought for his girl and still got dumped in the end

— Marcus Perez (@Markaaaay) November 5, 2016

We then see the husband penguin begin to hit his romantic rival with his flippers, which may as well be "baseball bats," the narrator says.

After things end in a stalemate, the female joins the fray to choose her man - the homewrecker.

But the daddy penguin is not to be denied. He follows them to their burrow where goes at the other penguin with his beak.

After a bloody second round, the female penguin again chooses her lover.

"He makes one last plea to the female, but she's got no time for losers," the narrator says coldly as the husband uses his less than happy feet to walk away from his lost love.

Social media, of course, went meme-crazy with this one, but who could blame them?

I see that people are already calling me a hoe without hearing my side of the story

— Uche (@UchennaNG) November 5, 2016