Best friends the true story of owen and mzee

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Account Options Sign in. Top charts. New arrivals. Ages After the tsunami in Southeast Asia, a little hippo named Owen was discovered orphaned and alone, far from home. Come read the true and heartwarming story of the animal sanctuary that provided a new home for Owen, where he found an unlikely best friend in a year-old tortoise named Mzee. Ken Call lives in Northbrook, Illinois.

Owen and Mzee are a hippopotamus and an Aldabra giant tortoise , respectively, that became the subject of media attention after forming an unusual bond of friendship. They live in Haller Park , Bamburi , Kenya. Owen was separated from his herd as a juvenile following the December tsunami and was brought to the Haller Park rescue center. Having no other hippos to interact with, Owen immediately attempted to bond with Mzee Swahili for old man [2] , whose large domed shell and brown color resembled an adult hippo. Mzee was reluctant about Owen at first but grew to like him and got used to Owen around him. Once it was determined that Owen had grown too large to safely interact with Mzee, a separate enclosure was built for Owen and a new female hippo named Cleo, with whom he bonded quickly.