Hard Shell, Soft Heart

A baby hippopotamus, who was orphaned when a tsunami washed away the rest of his family, has found a surrogate mother, in the form of a century old Aldabra tortoise, called Mzee. When the tsunami devastated the Kenyan Coast in 2004, the calf was washed down Sakabi River, and into the Indian Ocean, rangers found him when the waves hit the Kenyan coast.

Owen, as the hippo has been named, would have been clearly traumatized and has found solace with the male tortoise, who has reportedly taken to acting as ‘mother’ in his stride.



The pair eat together, sleep together and swim together. Hippos are social animals, and young will stay with their mothers for about 4 years. However, despite the keeper’s intentions to separate the unlikely duo, they are destined to live together, although Owen has a new friend, Cleo, a lonely female hippo.




The inseparable two even have their own website, and have had books written about them, they are famous all over the world!