The Hippopotamus and the Tortoise
This story made the rounds in January, 2005 when it first broke, but I never saw it. I couldn’t resist posting it here now.
(Text and images from an email I recently received, and assorted web sources. FYI: SNOPES says it’s mostly a true story)
…Some news accounts (including the one sped from inbox to inbox in early 2005) asserted the orphaned hippo was swept into the sea by the tsunami that devastated numerous coastal countries in the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004, yet wildlife officials were alerted to the imperiled hippo before Christmas, when hoteliers in Malindi spotted the little fellow, in the company of a number of adults of his kind, foundering in the surf off the coast. By the time wildlife officials arrived, Owen was alone, having become separated from his herd. Had he not been rescued, the ocean’s waters would have done in the youngster because long immersion in salt water would have led to fatal dehydration.
