The Hippo and the Tortoise

Much of life can never be explained but only witnessed.

 

NAIROBI (AFP) – A  baby hippopotamus that survived the Tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong

bond with a giant male century-old tortoise in an animal Facility in the port city of Mombassa , officials said.The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen, and weighing about 300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean. Then forced back to shore whenTsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on December 26, before wildlife rangers rescued him.

‘It is incredible. A-less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a male tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise seems to be very happy with being a ‘mother’,’ said ecologist Paula Kahumbu, who is in charge of Lafarge Park.

‘After it was swept away and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatized. It had to look for something to be a surrogate mother.Fortunately, it landed on the tortoise and established a strong bond. They swim, eat and sleep together,’ the ecologist added. ‘The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it followed its mother. If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive. By nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their mothers for four years,’ he explained.