Look Beyond Our Differences
‘Much of life can never be explained but only witnessed.
- Rachel Naomi Remen, MD
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 of Mombassa, officials said.
The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing about 300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean , 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 a century old, and the tortoise seems to be very happy with being a ‘mother’,’ ecologist Paula Kahumbu, who is in charge of Lafarge Park , 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.
‘Look beyond the differences and find a way to walk the path together.’
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October 11th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
yes Migs agree, we do need the comfort of each other…. I guess it is our nature to find comfort on other people, whether we’re related to them or not…
October 11th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
I just read related topic to this post and I realized that most straight men really gravitate on me with pure friendship reasons. I’m lucky that they can tolerate me as a gay person. And I don’t need example from animal kingdom.
October 11th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Thank you for sharing….
October 11th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
*teary-eyed
thank you migs
October 11th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
seriously speaking
October 11th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
wow.. i got teary-eyed as well.. i wish those two great creatures all the best..
October 11th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Awww… what a sight… *sniff*
October 11th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
i believe that is what you call pure love?
October 11th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
the wonder of creation. Can dis be considered only as instinct or they choose to take care of each other, real LOVE???
October 11th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
i think it’s not love pure animal instinct.
pero kung ganyan ang pinapakita mga hayop, dapat na tayong mahiya na mga tao bcoz animals seem to act more ‘humane’ than we humans do…we, humans, are given the ability to think and communicate our thoughts in various ways yet we fail miserably to coexist peacefully in this world.
nature can survive without humans but humans cannot survive without nature.
October 11th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
I still have to prove simbiosis between a phyton and a baboon!!
October 11th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
this is possibly my favoritest post ever! wonderful message and cute story
October 11th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
ay kayo na lang .. sino sa inyo mukhang hippo? niyahahahaha!
October 11th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
aww cute.
October 11th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Aawwwwwwww! what a cute story, we humans have a lot to learn from these creatures
October 12th, 2007 at 1:48 am
kyut talaga ng hippo mukhang maton, ay anton!
October 12th, 2007 at 6:54 am
anton maton, “kayo na lang” na ano? ano na nga ba ang point ng istorya? sasabihin ko sana utak hippo, pero hwag na..kasi mukhang may sense pa ang hippo!
Peace!
October 12th, 2007 at 9:27 am
how cute!! wow!
October 12th, 2007 at 9:38 am
haaaay…. at dyan magsisimula ang world peace!!! Galing! Buti pa mga hayop nagkakasundo!
migs, i think it would be interesting to know what your readers think about the feature sa news na hindi mahilig sa SEX ang mga Filipino. I heard something last night, that according to a survey conducted, SEX ranks only seventh on the hierarchy of things that makes Filipinos happy.
October 12th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
awwwwwwwwww….
October 12th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
hayyyyy!!!!!
October 13th, 2007 at 12:11 am
they actually have a book! =)
October 21st, 2007 at 10:32 pm
love it…