Tortoise adopts baby hippo
January 8, 2005



Owen the baby hippo stares adoringly at his new mum / EPA


Pining for his lost mother, Owen quickly befriended a giant male Aldabran tortoise named Mzee - Swahili for "old man".

Haller Park ecologist Paula Kahumbu said the pair were now inseparable.

"It is incredible. A hippo has adopted a male tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise seems to be very happy with being a mother," Ms Kahumbu said. "The hippo follows the tortoise the way it follows its mother.

"The hippo was left at a very tender age. Hippos are social animals that like to stay with their mothers for four years." Officials are hopeful Owen will befriend a female hippo called Cleo, also a resident at the park.

The Daily Telegraph