Owen(left) and Mzee (right),Chillin'.The Hippo Called Owen and ATortoise Called Mzee.
A baby hippo, which was rescued after floods in Kenya, has befriended a tortoise. The one-year-old hippo calf christened Owen was found dehydrated by wildlife rangers on the shores of the Indian Ocean. Apparently, the rest of the Hippopotamus herd was washed out to sea.
Owen was put in an enclosure at a wildlife sanctuary in the coastal city of Mombasa, also in the enclosure was a male tortoise called Mzee. Notice that they are both of a similar colour. (In Swahili, Mzee means old man).
'They sleep together, eat together and are inseparable, 'reports park official Pauline Kimoti.' Since Owen arrived on the 27 December, the tortoise behaves like a mother to it.'
Ms Kimoti said that if the 300kg hippo continued to thrive then in the next few weeks they would allow the public to see the unlikely pair together before they are separated.
Long term they hope to pair Owen with Cleo, a lonely female hippo who is currently in a separate enclosure.
Mzee and Owen are the latest in a series of unusual bondings in the wild that have surprised zoologists in Kenya. What a lovely story of a hippo and a tortoise. See our PowerPoint presentation of Owen and Mzee's story.
Clive of India's TortoiseClive of India's Tortoise Addwaitya
On 23rd of March 2006, a giant tortoise called 'Addwaitya' died in the Kolkata zoo in India. The tortoise had been the pet of Robert Clive (Clive of India), the famous British officer who did so much to establish India as a colony. Estimates suggest that this Aldabran tortoise called 'Addwaitya' was about 250 years old. Indeed 'Addwaitya' would have to be at least that age as Clive of India died in 1774.
The name 'Addwaitya' means 'The One and Only' in Bengali, it is claimed to be the oldest tortoise in the world, unfortunately there are gaps in the provenance.
'Historical records show he was a pet of British general Robert Clive of the East India Company and had spent several years in his sprawling estate before he was brought to the zoo about 130 years ago, 'West Bengal Forest Minister Jogesh Barman said.
'We have documents to prove that he was more than 150 years old, but we have pieced together other evidence like statements from authentic sources and it seems that he is more than 250 years old, 'he said. The minister said details about Addwaitya's early life showed that British sailors had brought him from the Seychelles islands and presented him to Clive.
Will and Guy hope that they will use carbon dating to confirm the age of Addwaitya. There are rumours that you can date tortoises by their rings. However, this is nowhere as accurate as tree ring dating. Because of the age and importance of Addwaitya, we hope they will find the necessary finds for a carbon dating.
This breed of Aldabra tortoises are native to the Seychelles in general and to the island of Aldabra in particular. It is believed that tortoises are the longest lived of all animals, it is not uncommon for them reach their 100th birthday.
Additional Reporting Here
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