The Daily Pick

Monday, July 25, 2005

Hippos: How to Adopt Them, How to Ship Them



Owen, a 300kg, one-year-old hippo, was swept down the Sabaki River , into the ocean and then back to shore when the giant waves struck the Kenyan coast. The dehydrated hippo was found by wildlife rangers and taken to the Haller Park animal facility in the port city of Mombasa .

Pining for his lost mother, Owen quickly befriended a giant male Aldabran tortoise named Mzee - Swahili for "old man".

"When we released Owen into the enclosure, he lumbered to the tortoise which has a dark grey colour similar to grown up hippos, Sabine Baer, rehabilitation and ecosystems manager at the park, told Reuters on Thursday. Haller Park ecologist Paula Kahumbu said the pair were now inseparable.After it was swept and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatised. 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.

Thanks Grow a Brain!

Also, if you want to ship a baby hippo via the United States Postal Service, the USPS actually has some guidelines for you:

You'll need:

Thanks Cynical-C.

posted by Anonymous at 1:26 AM

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