Tortoise adopts baby hippo January 8, 2005    Owen the baby
hippo stares adoringly at his new mum / EPA   Pining for his
lost mother, Owen quickly befriended a giant male Aldabran
tortoise named Mzee - Swahili for "old man".  Haller Park
ecologist Paula Kahumbu said the pair were now inseparable.  "It
is incredible. A hippo has adopted a male tortoise, about a
century old, and the tortoise seems to be very happy with being
a mother," Ms Kahumbu said. "The hippo follows the tortoise the
way it follows its mother.  "The hippo was left at a very tender
age. Hippos are social animals that like to stay with their
mothers for four years." Officials are hopeful Owen will
befriend a female hippo called Cleo, also a resident at the
park.  The Daily Telegraph