tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18747227.post-49334474875729150682007-11-20T08:35:00.000-08:002007-11-20T08:43:18.864-08:00<div class="Section1"><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >NAIROBI (AFP) - A baby hippopotamus that survived the </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >bond with a giant male century-old tortoise in an animal </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >facility in the port city of Mombassa , officials said. </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen, and weighing about</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >River into the Indian Ocean , then forced back to shore</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >December 26, before wildlife rangers rescued him.</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" ><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>"It is incredible. A-less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >male tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise seems to </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >be very happy with being a 'mother'," ecologist Paula Kahumbu, </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >who is in charge of Lafarge Park , told AFP. </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >"After it was swept away and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatized. </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >It had to look for something to be a surrogate mother.</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >Fortunately, it landed on the tortoise and established a strong bond. </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >They swim, eat and sleep together," the ecologist added. </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >"The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it followed its mother. </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >as if protecting its biological mother," Kahumbu added. </span></span></b><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" > <?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" ><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>"The hippo is a young baby, he was left at a very tender age and </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >by nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >mothers for four years," he explained. </span></span></b><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" > <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" ><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >but by the moments that take our breath away."</span></span></b><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" > <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" ><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is a real story that shows that our differences don't matter </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >much when we need the comfort of another.</span></span></b><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" > <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >We could all learn a lesson from these two creatures, </span></span></b><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" > <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >"Look beyond the differences and find a way to walk the path together."</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" > </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" ><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></span></b><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" > </span></span></b><b><span style="font-family:Kristen ITC;font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:'Kristen ITC';font-size:12;" >Save the Earth... it's the only planet with chocolate.</span></span></b></p></div>Santahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12571304794419116215noreply@blogger.com