We interrupt our regular rubbish programming to bring you a nice feel good story for a change:
NAIROBI (AFP) – A baby hippopotamus that survived the tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a bond with a giant male century-old tortoise in an animal facility in the port city of Mombasa , 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 when tsunami 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’,” ecologist Paula Kahumbu, who is in charge of Lafarge Park , told AFP.
“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, as if protecting its biological mother,” Kahumbu added.
“The hippo is a young baby, he was left at a very tender age and by nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their mother for four years,” he explained.
—-
Original Credit: AFP.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7a39af1c-bae0-4215-9308-93515d489875)
One sometimes wonders if this isn't just two people who were madly in love with each other in a former life, reincarnated here…..
….No, I have not taken more Prozac than prescribed…it was 3 pills right?
Unconditional love knows no boundaries. We humans could learn a lot from them.
This is what the new world will be like, when the Lion lies down with Lamb
just shows how true love really is the answer to all our problems. I loved the 3 comments above. Thanks to all who pass such heartwarming stories on.
that was my pet, ya hear me…. my long lost pet!!
After spending the morning catching up on the “human” news of the day – I happened upon this beautiful and uplifting story. Definitely the bright spot of my day! I won’t return to CNN today. Thank you SO much for publishing this – it made me smile and gave me hope.
[...] The hippopotamus and the tortoise… var a2a_config = a2a_config || {}; a2a_config.linkname="Orangutan and dog become friends…"; a2a_config.linkurl="http://www.stustake.com/2010/06/orangutan-and-dog-become-friends.html"; June 7th, 2010 | Category: Cool Links, Cool Photos and Pictures [...]
im doing a project, im in the 8th grade 13 years of age .
these pictures made me want to cry after i read the story, this will be perfect for my project
this here fella has been with for quite a few years now , he currently 5 years of age now. anyone who would like to adopt this animal please call this number
(910)-476-8466
[...] The hippopotamus and the tortoise… [...]