OWEN AND MZEE

In Nairobi, a baby hippopotamus that survived tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast began following a giant century-old male tortoise in an animal facility in the port city of Mombassa, and the two formed a strong bond.

Officials said that the hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing about 650 pounds, was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean, then forced back to shore when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast 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 was in charge of Lafarge Park.

After the hippo was swept away and lost
its mother, it was traumatized it searched
for a surrogate mother. Fortunately, it landed
on the tortoise and they established a strong bond. They swam, ate and sleept together,
the hippo following the tortoise just as it would have followed its mother.

If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, as if protecting
its biological mother," Kahumbu added. "The hippo was a young baby, left at a very tender age.
By nature, hippos are social animals that like
to stay with their mothers for four years,"
she explained.

Our differences don't matter much when we need
the comfort of another. We could learn from these two creatures of God, to look beyond our differences and find a way to walk the path
of life together.

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