In 2005 there was an earthquake in Indonesia and this caused a big Tsunami.
A lot of animals and people were hurt. People were helping one another and helping strangers and in the process they made new friend that would be with them for life.
One of the most suprizing and beautiful friendships that were made, was between Owen and Mzee.
Owen was a baby hippo and he lived in Kenya, very far away from the Tsunami, but not far enough. Some of the big waves from the Tsunami swept over his river and took him away from his family.
People from the village saw poor little Owen sitting on a rock out in the sea and shivering and very very frightened. He did not know where he was and could not get back to his family.
More than a thousand villagers worked together for a whole day and they rescued the scared little hippo with their shark nets. How wonderful of these people...
How did the hippo get his name? A French visitor named Owen was one of the volunteers and the one to get Owen to safety after all the struggling of the whole day.
Owen was taken to Haller Park and was released into a large wooden pen. This pen was the home of an Aldabra tortoise that was 130 years old. His name is Mzee - that is Swahili for 'old man'.
Poor Owen was so scared and tired that he immediatly ran to Mzee and tried to hide behind him.
Mzee was a bit sceptical at first and he did not know if he liked this funny looking 'tortoise', but in a few days they became good friends.
Mzee taught Owen what to eat and where to sleep. In the first year together the two of them were inseparable and they ate, slept, swam and played together.
Owen would jump onto Mzee's back and scratch his neck.
Scientist were very interested to watch this special bond between the odd pair off friends and they even noticed that they had special sounds with which they communicated.
Owen would also protect Mzee if anyone new came into the pen,
In 2007 the park brought in a female hippo to become Owen's friend. Mzee and the other tortoises were moved to another area in the park but he and Owen are still good friends and the workers in the park often give them a chance to spend time together.
Now the question is..... if two animals from different species can have so much compassion for one another, how much more can we as humans have if we just accept one another, no matter if we are different.
Have a look at some more beautiful pictures of this odd pair here
Watch the heartwarming video.
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