**A baby hippopotamus has adopted a male tortoise

NAIROBI(AFP)-A baby hippopotamus that survived the

tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong

bond with a giant male century-old tortoise in an animal

facility in the port city ofMombassa, officials said.

The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owenand weighing about

300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki

River into theIndianOcean, then forced back to shore

when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on

December 26, before wildlife rangers rescued him.



"It is incredible. A-less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a

male tortoise, about acentury old, and the tortoise seems to

be very happy with being a 'mother'," ecologistPaula Kahumbu,

who is in charge ofLafargePark, told AFP.



"After it was swept away and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatized.

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," the ecologist added.

"The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it followed 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.



"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,

but by the moments that take our breath away."



This is a real story that shows that our differences don't matter

much when we need the comfort of another.

We could all learn a lesson from these two creatures of God,

"Look beyond the differences and find a way to walk the path together."


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