A baby hippopotamus that survived the tsunami waves has formed a strong bond with a giant male century-old tortoise.
The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing 650 pounds, lost its mother and was swept into the Indian Ocean. He was tramatized. 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.
"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.
"The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it follows 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 mothers for four years," he explained.
Doesn't this stuff make yoo sooo happie!?!?!
6 comments:
This is the best storey I've red in my LIFE! I want a baby hippo to come live with me!
Everyone needs someone!
That is a great story and Mr. Tortoise looks like he he prolly could use a friend too. Who knows, his buest friend could have died in 1936 and he's been waiting for a new friend ever since....
That's a good story. We don't fink we would want a baby hippo though cos if he cuddled us an then rolled ofurr SPLAT!! no more Eric and Flynn
Yes, that is a furry good story! I know I haven't blogged in a while, but Mom's been busy and I hven't been able to sneak on the computer- but she says she'll help me with a big one tommorrow.
that's a furry sweet an touching story, but that "baby" is 650 pounds? wow!
That's a good story wif a BIG baby. I think I'd purrfurr a tortoise come live wif us. The hippo looks like he might aksidentally step on one of us and squish us. We could just hop ofur the tortoise guy.
~~ Boni
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