Bắt Đầu Câu Chuyện của "Trâu Nước và Rùa"
Cuốn Sách nói về 2 con vật dễ thương này ở đây:
http://www.lafargeecosystems.com/downloads/Owen&Mzee_eBook.pdf
27th. December
December 18, 2004, 8:03 am
;)
Today is a day that I will never forget. I was at the hospital getting
treatment when my phone rang. Only my boss Sabine Baer would call me during
the holiday. I knew it must be important.
'Stephen, we have to rescue a baby hippo, can you come?'
I didn't hesitate 'Yes' I said 'it will take me twenty minutes to get to the
office from the hospital'.
'but you have malaria, perhaps you should rest?'
'No, the malaria has gone' It was a half lie, my head was sore but I would not
give up on a baby hippo for anything.
I rode my motorbike back as fast as I possibly could safely, Paula the General
Manager she was waiting with two other people who would also help with
bringing the baby back. Sabine would work as fast as possible with another
team to prepare the baby's home.
We contacted Dr. Kashmiri, a local wildlife veterinarian who joined us and we
drove in convoy. It took us two long hours to drive to Malindi, a small
coastal town north of Mombasa. On the way I learned that the baby hippo was
one in a family that had been washed out of the Sabaki river, one of Kenyas
largest rivers that has tributaries and headwaters in the Tsavo and Nairobi
areas. The river had flooded over the previous days due to extremely heavy
rains in the Chyulu Hills and huge volumes of silt laden water had gushed out
of the mouth bringing the family of hippos with it. The family had been in the
sea for several days having been first spotted on the 24th in an area north of
the river at a place called Vasco Da Gama Point. That night they grazed in
peoples gardens and in the morning the villagers chased them down to the sea
across a famous tourist beach called Silver Beach. They swam across the mouth
of the river into the Marine Park and slept near there for the next few days.
Every day the crowds grew larger as attempts to push them back up the river
were made, but on the 26th when the Tsunami hit, the water rose and fell so
unpredicatably that it was impossible and the baby became separated from it's
family. That night they returned to river, but the baby was spotted on the
coral reef amongst the sea grass. About a thousand people came to the park to
see what was happening as fishermen, volunteres and Kenya wildlife Service
tried to catch him out in the shallow waters. The local fishnets were hopeless
the baby hippo just tore right through them. The boats kept hitting the bottom
as the hippo eluded them. Finally, after three hours of chasing he was seen
lying on the reef. A small team approached him, this time with a shark net
that was kindly offered by one of the fishermen who had gone into Malindi town
to get it. Shark nets are much stronger than the traditional fishing nets but
they also coast a lot of money. Damaging or destroying a shark net would make
the local fishermen very unhappy. The crowd of over a thousand people who had
come to see out of concern for the hippo exploded in a shout of joy that could
be heard a kilometer away.
We drove straight to the Malindi Marine Park where a small crowd surrounded a
green pick up truck. Inside lay something tightly wrapped in fishing nets. The
crowd had been here for hours and seemed relieved that we had arrived.
We introduced ourselves and got to work. Dr. Kashmiri examined the hippo which
looked very subdued, quiet and tired. He had small wounds all over his legs,
his colour was a dull dark grey, and he lay silently. His head was covered and
my job was to keep him constantly wet to keep his body cool. We decided on a
plan to unwrap him from the fishing net, and all hands were at work trying to
get him out of the tangle. Suddenly he stood up and some people backed off in
fear, then Kashmiri gave the order to remove the net quickly. Everyone was
busy but the tangle was a mess, it seemed impossible and the hippo was getting
upset, standing up and lying down every few minutes.
Then the worst thing happened, the blanket fell of his face and for the first
time he saw all of us around him. That must have given him a huge shock, there
were cameras flashing everywhere and the excited voices of the helpers
probably scared him even more. He started trying desperately to jump out of
the truck while snapping at everyone around.
Most people fled, but Dr Kashmiri and I have handled many wild animals before,
we held onto him as others struggled to put the blanket over his eyes again.
It was a scarey few minutes - if he had jumped out of the car he would have
suffered serious injuries
After that the unwrapping became much easier, and before long the net was
returned to it's owner and the hippo was safely tied to prevent him from
biting or seeing anyone. He as moved by many hands to Paulas car which was
quickly closed. We did not waste time
Saying goodbye, we knew the hippo was traumatised and needed to get to a safe
place quickly. But before we left, we asked the crowd what name they wanted to
give him. At first the name Mark rang out, Mark Easterbrook is an honorary
game warden who lives in Malindi and who helped coordinate the rescue. But
Mark would not take the honour, he suggested Owen, and a young French man
looked up in surprise. 'What?' Yes Mark said, you are the person with the
greatest courage for the final rugby tackle that brought Owen down. The crowd
agreed and laughed as they practiced the name 'Owen the hippo'.
We drove back to Mombasa at a slow pace, baby Owen just slept. We stopped
twice and I poured cold water over him. Dr. Kashmiri checked his vital signs,
Owen had dropped a smelly gift in the car. It was a good sign that he was
already eating grass, it means we would not need to bottle feed him. We drove
through two police checks without any incident, I wonder what would have
happened if the police had checked the vehicle, 'what are you carrying?' 'a
baby hippo' …. They might think we are poachers!
By the time we arrived in Haller Park, it was getting dark, a small team of
our staff led by Sabine were here to meet us and help. Their expressions of
joy were unmistakable,
It didn't take long for us to get Owen out of the vehicle, and he seemed more
than eager to get away from us. It took ten of us to lift him out of the car,
then I helped Dr Kashmiri remove all the ties and let him go. Owen hardly
glanced at us then trotted off away in to the enclosure that Sabine and her
team had prepared. They had piled up lots of freshly cut grass and even
brought bottles of milk in case he needed it. We stood and watched him as the
light faded, he didn't explore his new home, but went straight up to one of
our oldest giant tortoises named Mzee and stood with him. Paula took some
photographs and Peter was filming.
To be honest, Mzee does not appreciate his new room mate and at first hissed
angrily at Owen, then lifted himself up and tried to run. Imagine a 100 year
old giant tortoise trying to run! It was not hard for Owen to keep up.
Once darkness had fallen everyone left, except Sabine and I. I am responsible
for making sure that Owen is alright all night long. It was such an exciting
day, I am exhausted, but I am so happy, all of this and I've got malaria too.
December 28th
December 28, 2004, 8:30 am
Today Paula and Sabine were the first ones to come and see Owen. He was lying
in the same place in a muddy corner of a pond were I left him last night. He
was on his side, only one nostril was out of the water, his eyes closed, his
body unmoving. We were sure that he was dead and all the excitement and good
feelings of yesterday disappeared as we all slowly approached the small
motionless form of Owen. I couldn't imagine breaking the news to our friends
in Malindi. Then to my great relief and pleasure, an ear fluttered, and then
slowly one eye opened. He is alive!
I feel a lot better but Owen does not look well. Today he slept all day long,
always beside his new adopted mother, Mzee. I have been watching Mzee, he
still does not seem to share Owens affections and everytime anyone comes into
the Kaya (a sacred place in the Haller Park where we plant rare and endangered
plants) Mzee seems to make a mad, but slow, tortoise dash for the gate. I have
to ask myself if Mzee is trying to escape from Owen? Owen is such a small
baby, he needs a companion and Mzee is just about the same size as Owen. To
Owen Mzee must be the next best thing to a real mother, he's almost the right
colour and shape, I don't think he cares that Mzee is a reptile. I really hope
they will still be together in the morning.
December 29
December 28, 2004, 8:42 am
This morning the grass we
brought for Owen to eat looks trampled! I don't think Owen has eaten anything
for two days. I brought him some other goodies to entice him to eat, like
cabbage, carrots and tomatoes. Mzee is much more interested in these, but Owen
seems to just follow Mzee and stay behind him. He does not recognize anything
we offer as food. I wonder what to do, Owen is so weak, his legs are wobbly,
his skin is a dark dull colour, and he seems to only want to sleep.
Owen is probably less than a year old, I have only seen small teeth in his
mouth so I wonder if he still needs milk. I've talked to Sabine about this but
how do you feed a wild baby hippo that is strong enough to knock you over? We
did see grass in his dung in the car on the way from Malindi so he is
definitely old enough to eat grass. But why won't he eat the grass we cut for
him. Can he smell us? He probably associates the smell of humans with the
trauma of his capture. He is unlike the other three hippos that I have raised,
they became quite tame and I could feed them, stroke them and take them for
walks. Owen is quite independent, no matter how much I try, he will not let me
close to him.
Although I am busy caring for Owen, he is always watching me no matter where I
go. Today he even tried to chase me, I think he is protecting Mzee.
30th December
December 28, 2004, 8:44 am
I inspected the compound this morning as Owen and Mzee were in the pond. The grass is trampled again, someone has eaten the cabbage and carrots, I can't tell if it is Owen or Mzee. Since hippos defecate in water, the only way to tell if he is eating is to observe them. Hippos are active after dark so I will watch him tonight.
31st December
December 28, 2004, 8:48 am
I had good news for Paula this morning. Last night Sabine and I saw Owen eating the grass and cabbages. What a relief. I think he is returning to his old self. I even noticed him playing in the larger clear pond. Now we can rest easy knowing he is going to regain his energy. What a great way to end the year.
1st January
December 28, 2004, 8:48 am
We have had Owen for five days now and just when I thought he was recovering something even more worrying happened. Today I noticed that he has started walking around in circles. Sabine told me that these are the symptoms of a very serious disease and we called Dr. Kashmiri to come and check him out. Dr. Kahsmiri arrived in the late morning, Owen was still doing his circles. According to the vet however, this is not a disease but perhaps an indication that Owen is still traumatized and feeling lost and alone. I wish we could do more to quickly settle Owen down.
2nd January
December 28, 2004, 8:52 am
Today I noticed that Mzee began is beginning to show some interest in Owen,
and Owen has stopped his turning just as suddenly as he started it. Everyday I
put the food out in the same place and Mzee knows and appreciates it. Today I
noticed that he does not seem to mind Owen following him. In the heat of the
day Owen was sleeping beside him, some part of his body always touches Mzee,
just like a human child reaching out for some security.
Owen has started following Mzee to the pond to swim, and then back out again
to the food, and the most extraordinary thing happened today. I noticed Owen
copying Mzee in eating dairy cubes (concentrated food that we give the other
hippos) and drinking water. I wonder if my eyes are deceiving me, but Owen
seemed to be copying Mzee.
I told Paula and Sabine about this and they came down with Peter to watch and
to film and photograph the strange behaviour. I worked with four other hippos,
but this is amazing.
5th January
January 18, 2005, 8:57 am
Peter has been filming and photographing Owen and Mzee together. Owen is much
stronger now and his attachment to Mzee is greater now than ever. Most of the
time they are just together, but now Owen is trying to get Mzee to respond.
This evening he licked Mzee on the face several times and I am sure that Mzee
liked it! But as affectionate as Owen is I have to remember that he is still a
hippo and hippos are territorial and strong. Especially males. Today he
charged me and I discovered just how fast he really is! I had to dash behind a
big old fig tree. I'm near by all the time but Owen does not take his eyes off
me. Does he think I am going to hurt Mzee?
7th January
January 18, 2005, 8:59 am
The first photograph of Owen
and Mzee this hit the front page of our national newspaper today. From first
thing this morning everyone has been calling us and I have even taken the
television crew to meet them. Although the filmers liked what they got, Owen
does not like all the attention. The tourists are now asking to see them but I
am not letting anyone into the compound, Owen is still too traumatized for
this.
Paula came by again this afternoon, now the international media want to come
and film. I can't believe it, Owen is a celebrity. I have never seen such
excitement over a baby hippo.
11th January
January 18, 2005, 8:59 am
The story of Owens amazing relationship with Mzee has gone all around the
world. Everyone is interested and fascinated in this strange behaviour and I
have to admit, in all my 20 years of working with wild animals, I have never
seen anything like it.
I suppose it is unique because the story has had such an impact all over the
world - we have appeared on CNN, German TV, and people have contacted us from
so many countries including Australia, India, France, USA, Germany, and South
Africa. Peter has made a news feature for BBC and it seems that he is the only
cameraman who has captured the affection that Owen and Mzee. It took hours of
waiting but he actually captured a scene where Mzee put his head into Owens
mouth as if they are playing. I really wish I could understand what these two
are saying to each other.
14th January
January 18, 2005, 9:01 am
Everyone is interested in
Owen and Mzee. My friends want to know how long this relationship can last. I
often wonder about this myself. Owen will outgrow Mzee before long and I think
he would be much better off with another hippo. Sabine and I are preparing a
new much better long term place for Owen which will be large enough for him
and Cleo. We will not be able to move them for some time, and since Cleo is an
adult, we don't know how quickly she will respond to Owen. We have never done
this before so it will be a big learning experience for us. I don't even know
how we will move Cleo - she must be several tons in weight!
Today Paula was on national radio talking about Owen and Mzee. While they were
on air the presenter searched google for Owen the hippo and came up with over
24,000 pages! I can't believe it. That is on top of all the emails and calls
that we get every day. So far we have even had someone from New York who wants
to write a book about this.
15th January
January 18, 2005, 9:05 am
;)
It has been almost three weeks since we rescued Owen and he is doing so much
better. He has regained his beautiful pink colour, and is looking really fat
and healthy. The media are still really excited about his relationship with
Mzee.
Today a Lafarge Eco Systems team went to a party for Owen in Malindi. The
Kenya Wildlife Service thanked us and the community for saving Owen. We ate
and drank and talked fondly of the day he was captured. Peter showed the BBC
film footage and they could believe their eyes. They screamed with delight at
the sight of Owen with Mzee especially when Mzee put his head in Owens mouth.
They made us replay the tape three times!
Everyone had something to say about their part in the rescue, we heard how the
shout of the community on the day could be heard one kilometer away when Owen
was finally captured. One old man who played a key role only wanted to know
one thing, how we would make sure that Owen had enough water to swim in and to
drink. The community want to be sure that Owen is safe and healthy and they
did not know that Bamburi quarries though once barren harsh places, are now
fully restored comprise green oases full of ponds and green vegetation. It is
perfect for Hippos.
We left after a few speeches and gave them some photographs of Owen and Mzee.
It is great to see that the interest in saving wild animals is so strong here.
The entire Malindi fishing community including Owen the volunteer and KWS have
promised to come see Owen and Mzee next week. I can't wait to show them
around.
18.01.2005
January 25, 2005, 9:56 am
18.01.2005
The story of Owen and Mzee has been all over the world. I was told it has been
broadcasted in Germany three times today – Sabine’s sister has been watching
and has SMS’ed her that she has seen us.
We hope though that the journalists have filmed enough for the time. They
rather come back for the continuation of the story when we introduce Owen to
Cleo!
We were seeing Owen becoming annoyed and stressed by all the visitors
following him around, taking pictures and wanting him to do things for the
cameras. Even to me at times it is taking a lot of my time, and some of my
other work has delayed as a consequence.
With the last film crew we could observe Owen becoming more and more annoyed
and stressed, as the minimum attack distance became longer and longer, meaning
he would tolerate less and less disturbance: When he is quiet and relaxed, and
it is just me or maybe I am with Sabine, we can approach him to 3-5m; but when
he feels annoyed and harassed he will stage one of his attacks when you
approach him or his tortoise even at a distance of 8-10m!
19 January 2005
January 25, 2005, 9:41 am
19.01.2005
Today Peter was doing some shots for BBC. He was ok, Owen didn’t get very
stressed. But we observed an interesting thing – Mzee chasing Owen away from
their food. I had not seen this before.
But Mzee definitely is very greedy for food. Almost every time I come, and
Mzee sees me, he comes out of the water and follows me wanting food. He does
the same to Sabine, and sometimes he even follows visitors. And if you don’t
give him, he will either come towards you with his mouth open (I have never
tried what he would do – their lips are very sharp!), or he will just push you
over.
When Mzee pushed Owen away from the food, Owen was quite confused and couldn’t
understand – was just standing for quite a while. And then decided to walk
around the tortoise and eat the grass on the other side.
22.01.2005
January 25, 2005, 9:40 am
22.01.2005
I think Owen will never be tame and friends with humans. He chases everybody
who comes close to his food or his tortoise. Even us.
I remember when we were rearing one of the other hippos, Jonny, who had come
as a small baby and had adopted me and Sabine as mothers and companions, he
also used to chase people who came close to us. We used to laugh at the guys
who used to get so scared by Jonny, and now we are just the same and run away
from Owen – you just don’t want to be run over by such a compact and heavy
parcel of force moving at unexpected speed, even though he is still a baby.
30th January 2005
February 7, 2005, 9:45 am
;)
During the day, when Mzee the tortoise is feeding on the grass, Owen follows
him around and they feed together. Owen also spends a lot of time trying to
cool himself in the small pond while Mzee walks around often away from Owen.
Even though they are inseparable, they are giving each other some space.
It is wonderful that Owen is attracting more and more people. Over one hundred
people came to see Owen feeding today at 4.30 pm. Among the many visitors one
of our Directors, Mr. Salim Ghalia, came to visit Owen's enclosure with a big
group of people who were also very important. We expect to receive many more
visitors to the Park who want to see Owen. The good thing is that he certainly
doesn't seem to mind the attention anymore, nor the fact that he is a
celebrity.
7th February 2005
February 7, 2005, 9:50 am
;)
Owen spent most of his time resting in the water with the tortoises, the are
two tortoises in the enclosure, he shares his attention between the two.
Owen's now changed his feeding habits as after feeding, he has started to feed
on carrots left by the bushbuck in the Kaya and he also wanders freely around
the enclosure, feeding on fallen leaves, fallen branches from trees around.
From about 6:45pm, he loves walking around alone at night. Visitors now enjoy
watching him during his and Mzee's feeding time (which is daily at 4.30pm). I
think he has settled very, very well into his new home and he is finally at
ease.
13th February 05
February 17, 2005, 3:21 am
Yesterday Owen could
not be seen and he had gone to hide at the back of the boma with his tortoise.
When he is not visible, the visitors are very understanding about this. The
number of visitors are increasing every day, it is good for our park.
20th February 05 - 6th March 05
March 31, 2005, 3:44 am
Owen seems to be spending most of his time in the shed alone, leaving his two cherished companions, the 2 tortoises, alone. This might be due to the temperature that has in the last few weeks risen to about 35 degrees centigrade and Owen would prefer to look for and rest under the shade with cool air blowing on him. More visitors are visiting our Haller Park to see Owen being fed. In fact one German tourist, who saw Owen’s rescue while in Malindi before been ferried to Haller Park, has been coming for one week to catch a glimpse of him. Though Owen has been illusive hiding for long periods, the tourist finally managed to see Owen after enjoying many tours in the Park with our professional tour guides. The plan to fence the boma Owen currently lives in is underway, so that he will not be able to wander off too far and visitors can see him easier.
6th March 05 - 13th March 05
March 31, 2005, 3:49 am
Nowadays, Owen is so interested in taking care of the 2 tortoises, both Mzee and his companion, and doesn’t spend as much time alone as he used to. We are still receiving more visitors coming to see Owen, and I’m wondering if he has become more famous than our other three Hippos in their different enclosure. Sally, one of our female hippos, used to be a movie star and we will soon have two movie stars in our Park! There is a lot of curiosity from visitors asking why Owen could not return to the wild and we have assured them that Owen’s home is safer than being in the wild alone. Soon Owen will move to a better spacious site and people can see him better and more of the time. It would be harder for him to survive in the wild all by himself with no mother to take care of him and hippos being territorial, he would likely be in greater danger if he was introduced to a family of hippos and the adult male naturally attack him. He is definitely very safe and well taken care of in the Park, a sanctuary for orphaned or abandoned or injured animals.
22nd April
April 27, 2005, 12:59 am
;)
I stayed up with Owen and Mzee until 10 pm last night. We had just finished
fixing the compound and I wanted to be sure that it was good. They seem to
love it. I have noticed that today they spent most of the day today out in the
open enjoying the sunshine. I called everyone to come and see, we had so much
fun watching them patrolling the compound. Whenever Mzee stopped walking Owen
would sit down or lie down. If Mzee walked, Owen would get up and follow from
behind, his nose often resting on Mzee's shell. Many people still can't
believe that this story is true.
Sometimes I think that Owen and Mzee are communicating, they often look as if
they are deep in conversation. When they move Mzee sometimes waits for Owen to
get up before he moves on. Owen always looks for Mzee before he goes
exploring. At one point Owen looked as if he was helping Mzee to climb over a
fallen log by nudging the back of his shell when he seemed stuck with all four
legs off the ground! When Mzee goes on walks he marches and Owen keeps up with
no effort at all. I noticed just how much
Owen has grown, he is almost the size of Mzee now. The bond between them is
stronger than ever. Owen can sometimes be seen licking Mzees wrinkled face and
neck as the old tortoise stretches his neck out, or nudging Mzee's shell with
his fat foot when he wants to go for a walk. He still sleeps with his head
nestled comfortably on Mzee's enormous scaly arm. Mzee reciprocates and has
been filmed putting his head trustingy into Owens mouth during a yawn.
When they fell asleep Mzee looked as if he was watching over Owen and only put
his head down after Owen had closed his eyes.
23rd April
April 27, 2005, 12:44 am
;)
I have great news today. Next week we are launching a childrens book “Owen and
Mzee” on the extraordinary relationship which will be launched in New York at
the Tribeca Film Festival next week on the 29th of April. The book, authored
by Craig Hatkoff, his six year old daughter Isabella, and Paula Kahumbu,
reveals how one victim of the Tsunami coped with losing his family. It is a
book about hope, finding friends and surviving trauma. It's also an amazing
true animal story.
It will be freely down loadable (we will give you details on this site from
the 29th of April). A hard copy will also be available soon. All proceeds from
sales of this book will be donated to victims of the Tsunami
Who would have imagined that a Hippo and a tortoise could take us to New York!
The children of Mombasa have joined us in celebrating and have been drawing
beautiful pictures for our launch. We will be illustrating some of these on
the website soon.
24th April
April 27, 2005, 12:48 am
;)
Although the rains have finally started and heat has abated, it is an unusual
rainy season. There are none of the usual storms and the showers are very
short lived. The Haller Park really needed the rain, everything was beginning
to look very dry. Now it is extremely green and it looks as if every thing is
in flower. Although it is the low season, we re still getting many visitors,
and thankfully Owen and Mzee have been very active and visible. Today they
were lying in the sun together, they often look as if they are deep in
conversation. I increasingly think that Mzee is as affectionate towards Owen
as the other way around. We have to be very quiet as Owen is still scared of
people. Sometimes he opens his mouth but we have never heard him make a hippo
sound apart from an angry snort when I come too close. He is very funny,
always makes a threat then runs to hide behind Mzee. Mzee is not scared at
all, I hope he teaches Owen that people are friendly.
We have some very exciting news to report. Our General Manager Paula is about
to leave for New York to launch our very own childrens book on Owen and Mzee
at the Tribeca Film Festival on the 29th of April. She has been working on
this book for the last few months.
The launch will include a tent at the Family Film Festival day, 30th of April
when the children of New York will be able to participate and interact with
the authors of the book. The children of Mombasa are also involved and have
been drawing messages for Paula to take to the launch.
My children also participated, especially Kibet, my 11 year old son who really
to have inherited my interest in animals. We saw the new footage of Owen
licking Mzee last night, and new photographs of Owen just before his capture
in the sea.
You can find out more about how to download you own copy of the book by
logging onto this site after the 29th of April. Did you know that you can
download some wonderful Owen and Mzee screensavers from the Fun & Freebies
part of this site? They are absolutely free!
Nobody would have guessed that a hippo and a tortoise would take us to
NewYork!
30th April
April 30, 2005, 12:06 pm
;)
FROM NEW YORK
The eight minutes of TV-time we received at the launch of the new book “Owen &
Mzee” gave us the opportunity to thrill many thousands of people with the
latest updates on Owen & Mzee and let everyone know that the book is available
absolutely free on this website. The link to download it is in the grey panel
to the right of this frame. I hope you enjoy reading it. Just a reminder, as
well, that you can now download the official Owen & Mzee screen saver here as
well, we hope you all like it.
It is really encouraging to meet the hundreds of children who have followed
the progress of Owen and Mzee on the pages of this ‘blog’ in person. All their
bright, excited faces made sure the dull weather (which didn’t do much good
for the planned street festival) outside our tent didn’t bring us down. We
would also like to thank the eight volunteers at our tent for coming out and
giving us a much needed helping hand.
Funny, that it is raining both here (New York) and in Mombasa, on little Owen
and Mzee. We can’t help feeling like we really miss them although we are here
as ambassadors for them and pictures of them are everywhere we look.
- Paula Kahumbu / New York
FROM MOMBASA - KENYA
Since the time he was brought, Owen has come quite a long way. Initially he
was so traumatized, that he hardly ever left his friend and guardian, the old
tortoise ‘Mzee’.
With time Owen has became more confident, he has started to explore his big
enclosure on his own during the night – we would see his footprints in the
whole enclosure, as he was exploring. Some of his exploration routes would
become his daily – or rather nightly – patrol paths, and some turned into
hippo tracks as they are seen in the wild, as hippos have routine trails they
always use.
By early March Owen had found some secure places in the swampy and bushy rear
area of the enclosure, and he chose to spend his days hidden away in the
cooler swamps. He only came to the open area near the viewing point in the
evenings to feed, and early in the morning he would go back into his hiding
place – adopting a true hippo lifestyle, resting and hiding during the day,
and feeding and patrolling his territory at night.
Visitors complained, as the famous pair could not be seen during the normal
visitors hours, and our some people were almost suspecting that Owen is not
actually there.
We wanted to be able to check on him during the day, therefore we divided the
enclosure to prevent him from hiding in the bushy swamp in the back. He still
has an adequately large home area, with opportunities to hide, and the main
pond and the mud puddle are also located here.
Owen still spends time with Mzee, but they are not as in-separable as they
were in the beginning. He seeks the proximity of Mzee specially when he feels
threatened or disturbed.
But when they do stay together, Owen’s attachment to Mzee still seems strong.
Owen still seems to take Mzee as a fellow hippo, a friend and protector – at
times nudging him to accompany him to the water, or just lying next and
snuggling up to him. We have observed Owen licking Mzee’s face and neck, what
Mzee seemed to enjoy a lot, as he then stretched his neck as if to encourage
more (like the giant tortoises do when you scratch their neck – they stand up
and stretch their neck.
Plans and preparations for the new future enclosure for Owen and Cleo are in
progress; however it will still take several months until their new home will
be ready.
3rd May
May 3, 2005, 1:41 am
;)
;)
;)
On Friday 29th was a typical rainy season day, with heavy rain and wind early
in the morning. A tree fell onto a building next to Owen & Mzee’s enclosure
and damaged the roof. Some of the roofing sheets needed to be replaced, a job
which was started the next day. The guys who worked on the repair stacked the
removed sheets leaning towards the wall of the house, inside Owen & Mzee’s
enclosure.
Over lunchtime when everybody had gone for lunch and all was quiet, Owen came
and inspected the ongoing activities. Obviously he liked the new shelter put
up against the building wall, and right away took possession of what he must
have assumed was put up for him, and went to sleep behind the sheets. Luckily
I saw Owen hiding behind the iron sheets, before the workers came back from
lunch, and managed to move him away from the building site using bananas to
lure Mzee.
I think we have to build him some kind of a shelter and hiding place. Like
Jonny, the other hippo we reared some 10 years ago, used to like the little
grass house – until he became too big for it and walked away with it. If we do
one for Owen, it must be big enough also for Mzee, or else he won't be having
any of it!
There is some more good news for you if you are in Mombasa. We shall be
launching the Owen and Mzee book oficially in Mombasa! Stay tuned for details
as these shall soon be posted on the website.
13th May
May 18, 2005, 8:28 am
We have just returned from
the launch of the ‘Owen and Mzee’. This is a short description of the event.
The launch was conducted live on the 5 O’clock news on WNBC, New York's most
popular Television station (estimated audience of 8 million), and included new
and unique footage of Owen and Mzee, and 6 year old main author, Isabella
Hatkoff, made a television appearance. The website achieved 19,000 hits in the
first 24 hours on the WNBC website – their average hit rate for a story is
5,000. The book was made simultaneously available on the Lafarge Eco Systems
website.
The launch continued the next day during the street festival of the Tribeca
Film Festival which was attended by 150,000 New Yorkers. We had a 20 x 20
meter tent exhibit that attracted thousands of people. Our exhibit included
photographs of Owen and Mzee, copies of the story, continuous rolling footage
on four TV screens, the work of our children, and colouring activities for
children. WNBC presenter Jane Hansen, conducted two live shows about the
stand. Despite the pouring rain, our colourful stand attracted thousands of
New Yorkers many of whom had seen the TV coverage and some of whom had driven
for hours thinking that Owen and Mzee would make an appearance. Following on
from activities conducted in Mombasa, hundreds of children of New York
reciprocated with similar messages which will be sent back to children of
Mombasa. In addition, world famous artist G. Augustine Lynas produced a life
sized sand sculpture of Owen and Mzee in a box beside the during the film
festival, to the delight of the swarming crowds.
Browse our website for a copy of the book as well as photographs of the trip.
Everyone is asking, ‘What next?’ During our stay in New York we discussed
where this story could go and we have a few ideas on the burner including a
Kenya launch, a published book and a documentary … keep watching our website
for regular news on the developments.
Paula Kahumbu
31st May
June 5, 2005, 10:33 am
Owen is doing well. He remains close to Mzee, resting and walking with him.
Alot of visitors still come to see him, although we are not getting many
visitors recently as it is the low season and it has ben raining alot
recently. Owen has now started eating grass. He has also started talking in
the language of the hippos. When he wants to leave, he nudges mzee and snorts
in a very hippo-like manner.
2nd June
June 5, 2005, 10:36 am
Yesterday (02/06/05) I saw that Owen's front underteeth have grown. Sometimes
he walks with the smaller tortoise in the kaya, but his heart remains with
Mzee, and he gets jealous of any attention or overtures made towards mzee by
me or anyone else. Owen's new boma that he is due to share with Cleo
should be made to fit him as comfortably as possible.
9th June
June 9, 2005, 9:56 am
Yesterday (08.06.05) was a
busy day for Owen. We hosted 80 corporate guests from the Architectural
Association of Kenya and they, with 2 of my managers came to see him in the
evening.
Owen was found together with the small tortoise in his enclosure, which is not
such a surprise, as he has started to hang out with the small one too
recently. Mzee was resting further in the forest and was not quite visible.
The guests watched Owen in fascination and took lots of pictures, including of
the small tortoise and a bushbuck being fed. Everyone was delighted to have
met Owen. They asked many questions about our future plans for him. When he is
eventually moved to be together with Cleo (the 13 year old female hippo also
resident at Haller Park) he will also be taken with Mzee so that they are not
separated.
It would be interesting to see how things develop from there but one thing is
for sure, he has encouraged many people to visit our beautiful Park and he
still does.
14th June
June 15, 2005, 12:23 am
;)
With the recent rains and current low season, the number of visitors coming to
see Owen has reduced considerably and the Park is quite quiet, as is Mombasa.
Owen had a lazy peaceful Sunday (12.06.05) with almost no visitors and
yesterday (Monday 13.06.05) only 6 people came by to see him. In the meantime,
Owen seems to have settled into a routine to suit himself. During the cool
mornings he can normally be seen out of the water feeding and generally
basking or reflecting, and the afternoons find him in the water.
Later on, particularly around 5.00 p.m., he tends to hang out with the smaller
tortoise in his enclosure. This time of day coincides with when he is normally
fed. After being fed he then seeks out Mzee, who has recently taken to being
in the background, looking for grass and other plants deeper in the enclosure.
Today morning, Owen was in a playful mood. He was in the water, twirling
around and going up and down. He found a log which he then pushed around for a
while before getting bored.
Mzee on the other hand, has not been in the water for almost a week now. Owen
is still not yet used to people, not even me Stephen as his handler. I still
take extra care when feeding him and do so when he is inside the water to
avoid being charged by him.
Nowadays he is really getting bigger and I have to always remember he is a
hippo at the end of the day and he can be dangerous if am not careful.
26th June
June 30, 2005, 6:10 am
The relationship between
Mzee and Owen is becoming closer. In the previous weeks, Owen has been
spending a lot of time away from Mzee and in the water on his own; he also
seemed to be getting friendlier with the smaller tortoise, Toto, in the boma
they all share.
This week however, Owen and Mzee have been walking around together more
closely and Owen is not staying in the water as much as he had been doing. The
climate has been a little cooler, which might explain why Owen has been out
and about a bit more. He must also be quite happy having befriended yet
another tortoise Toto, so that when Mzee decides to stay away, he can always
stay with Toto, who amazingly also doesn't mind Owen.
The visitors to Haller Park, though few because of the rainy low season, still
visit the Park and watch Owen when he is not hiding and can be seen from the
visitor points. We hope there will be many many more coming in the next
months. Owen is now 1 and a half years old; it would be great to celebrate his
birthday if we only knew what date he was born.
6th July
July 6, 2005, 9:27 am
More than 20 V.I.P.s came to
see Owen and Mzee today morning in several groups. The visitors were Lafarge
Investors and Analysts who influence or recommend people who would like to
invest their money to do so with Lafarge. They were accompanied by our
managers as well as our Managing Director, Bamburi Cement and the Regional
President for Lafarge Africa, who were hosting them.
Owen was in the pool and we thought he wouldn't come out but shortly did, when
the visitors started taking pictures. He stood behind Mzee as if to pose for
the pictures and welcome his visitors. Owen seems to be slightly less shy
these day, which is a very good sign. I think he is getting more used to many
people, just like the other three hippos we have in the Haller Park. When he
meets Cleo, I am sure she will help encourage him to be bolder, as Cleo is
quite the social hippo, very often responds to her name by flicking her tail
playfully in her pool!
The week so far has seen several very important visitors visiting our Park. On
Tuesday we had a very interesting talk by a restoration expert, Dr. Ron Abrams
from the US, talking on restoration work done at the Saratoga National Golf
Club in the US. It was good to learn from other people's experiences and
compare with ours which have developed over 30 years ago. There are also more
tourists coming to the Park now, which is a very welcome change from the quiet
we have had recently as a result of the rain and low season. It's still cool
in Mombasa but we hope it will get warmer as thedays go by.
12th July
July 13, 2005, 2:07 am
Last Saturday (9.7.05) at
11.00 am, a Producer for a local TV programme called 'Artscene' and his
cameraman, both from a local news station Nation TV, came to see Owen and Mzee
to learn about their story from us. They met with our Tourism Manager, General
Manger and myself and we spent 2 hours with the couple. They took alot of
video footage and were quite fascinated by them, as are most who meet Owen and
Mzee. The story was also in today's Nation newspaper (12.7.05) with a picture
of me playing with Owen and a nice article about how they've been together
since Owen arrived last December.
I'm glad they are still receiving alot of publicity locally. I fed them some
dairy cubes in two piles. To show just how close they still are, instead of
separating from each other so that each of them had their own pile, Owen
waited for Mzee to finish eating from the first pile before they moved on to
eat the next pile of dairy cubes together. Yesterday (11.07.05) Owen was
eating bananas and carrots too.
Owen is getting used to me and will even play with me now. He would stand on
his two hind feet when I put my hand above his head, and he tolerates me
coming quite close to him. We also spoke a little hippo language together!
Owen has started adjusting to people; he even let us wander around in his
enclosure taking pictures, although he was smelling the air, trying to
identify his visitors. However he must have been tired towards the end of 2
hours, because he started showing signs of irritation (threatening to charge
and snorting).
I will try to spend as much time as possible with Owen, especially when he is
eating, so that I can gain his trust. When the time comes to move him in wth
Cleo, it will be easier to handle him; I hope he will be following me by
then....
15th - 21st July 2005
July 25, 2005, 10:04 am
After the recent busy
schedule that Owen has had, with VIPS and news stations coming to see him, the
last few days have been quiet. Not that it makes much difference in the lives
of Owen and Mzee.
Owen still follows Mzee around, and if anyone gives Mzee attention he comes
over quickly and joins Mzee. He is still jealous over Mzee's attention. He
barely pays any attention to the other smaller tortoise in the boma, which he
was also following at one point. However nowadays, as well as becoming bolder,
he has also become more persuasive with Mzee and occasionally pushes him in
the direction that he wants to go.
Sometimes Mzee will follow in the direction of the nudges, but on other
occasions he won't have it, and he stubbornly refuses to move. Owen seems to
know when to stop pushing though. Owen's boldness seems linked to Mzee: when
he is with Mzee he will allow people to approach quite close, but on his own,
he snorts and gestures if you come too close. Owen himself continues to grow
and develop; his teeth/tusks are about 1/2 an inch long now
When I read the website and see all the comments that are posted about Owen
and Mzee, I feel happy for them and wish they could understand the goodwill
people have for them. I feel honoured to be able to look after the couple.
25th July - 3rd August
August 5, 2005, 5:26 am
Owen tends to spend his
mornings these days resting in the water with Mzee. In the afternoons, he goes
off into the forest on his own. At night while Mzee is resting, Owen will go
on night walks, exploring in his now familiar enclosure and eat grass and
left-over food. Sometimes when he is sleeping in the water and Mzee wants to
go somewhere, Mzee will try and nudge him abit awkwardly to wake him up and
get him out and moving. They also still eat together, although Mzee takes a
noticeably longer time to finish his share of 'dairy cubes' than Owen. Owen
has also been noticed watching Mzee as he eats the fallen tree leaves, then
copying Mzee and eating them also. Owen also doesn't eat as much as Mzee,
though he has grown noticeably bigger, at least a bit bigger than Mzee. Due to
recent media coverage, Owen and Mzee are now also getting alot of local
visitors, and are well-known in Kenya.
The Park is also very busy now with many school children coming to visit the
Park. August is usually a very busy month for us and we are delighted at
having so many people coming to visit and seeing Owen, when he's not being shy
on any given day, and other attractions. This week we started doing the
crocodile feeding show, which is something very spectacular to watch. The
visitors tand nearby the crocodile pen and watch as the huge crocodiles reach
for the meat they are being fed on out of the water, then dive back! Many
tourists took alot of pictures and I think many of them had never seen
something like this. The Haller Park is definately an exciting place to visit
in Mombasa.
17th August
August 22, 2005, 7:23 am
Stephen is on leave so I
(Paula) have been making visits to see Owen and Mzee to make sure that the
story keeps coming. On Monday Mzee and Owen ate their dinner as usual but then
Owen walked off. To my surprise, Mzee started following Owen in circles around
the compound, which we have never really before to such an extent. He was
following and nudging Owen from behind. Owen would take a few steps, wait for
Mzee to catch up then move on a bit further. If Owen didn't move fast enough,
Mzee would nip his tail gently. Eventually they wondered into their favourite
pond and began to nudge and budge each other, I am not sure what they were up
to but Mzee was crashing about making big splashes.
On Tuesday I went back with camera this time and watchd them but they were
both lying about just a few feet from me. Then I heard a strange sound, like a
high pitched but soft whine. It was coming from Owen, and then as I listened,
it was coming from Mzee. I couldn't believe my ears, they were making sounds
to one another. But they were not typical hippo or tortoise sounds. I think
one of them is copying the other but which one is doing it is the question. In
an elephant orphanage in Kenya the baby elephants mimic the sounds of cars on
a near by highway. Maybe Owen is mimicking the sounds of the air in Mzee's
stomach. Whichever it is, it's pretty extraordinary. What do you think is
going on?
19th August
August 22, 2005, 7:24 am
It's high season and crowds
are thronging to see Owen. He is surprisingly calm despite the attention and
cameras. After the crowds had disappeared one evening, and the sun began to
set we were filming Owen and Mzee eating. Owen became more active but what
happened next we had never seen before. Mzee began to follow Owen as he did a
little tour of the area. But, not only was Mzee following, he was also nudging
Owen with his foot, his shell and then nipping Owen gently on his tail if he
stopped moving. Owen would take a few steps then wait for Mzee to catch up
before being nudged on. Eventually they slipped into the pond and began to
play there. Mzee would rise up and fall into the water with a great splash.
Though Owen is so much bigger than Mzee now, it is very clear that Mzee is in
charge. Sometimes when Owen feals threatened he will attempt a mock charge and
emit a loud snort if we get too close. When this happens, Mzee nudges him and
pushes him back and away from us as if to say 'leave them alone, they are
harmless'.
The following evening Owen and Mzee were once again together feeding. Owen
moved a few meters away and lay down as if to sleep. He began to make a very
soft yet high pitched sound almost sorrowful. As we listened to determine
where the sound was coming from, to our amazement, we realized that it was
sometimes Mzee and at other times Owen. It was a strange sort of communication
because they were not even looking at each other, yet one of them seems to be
imitating the sound of the other. The sounds are not familiar to us so we
cannot tell if it Owen mimicking Mzee or the other way round.
23rd August 2005
August 27, 2005, 2:44 am
Owen and Mzee have settled
into a pattern of companionship. They spend the mornings together from about
7.00am upto 10.00am, then go their separate ways for the day. They like to
spend time in the water, or at the back of their enclosure. During the day,
Owen will hide in the bushes or rests in the background, out of the water. In
the late afternoon around his feeding time at 4.30pm and the evening, they
come together to eat together. Owen, despite his bigger mouth and bigger
appetite, eats at the same pace as Mzee, or waits for him to finish before
moving onto the next pile of food. From time to time, Owen and Mzee push each
other around playfully. Sometimes when Owen is blocking Mzee, Mzee will nudge
him right out of the way like he is impatient; but he is quite old so is used
to his ways.
On Tuesday we had some very important people visiting the Haller Park. The
group consisted of Police Commissioners from the wider East Arican region,
very senior people from various countries. Some had come from Sudan, Djibouti,
Ethipoia, Burundi, Rwanda, Seychelles and our neighbouring Uganda and
Tanzania. When they came to Owen & Mzee's enclosure during their feeding time,
we waited for the pair to come out of the Pond, which they were not in a hurry
to do it seemed. Suddenly Mzee decided he was hungry after all and lunged out
of the water, at a steady pace. Owen seemed startled at Mzee's sudden move and
almost dashed out of the water after him, still maintaining his position
behind Mzee. The animal handler who is feeding him in Stephen's absence,
Reginald, had to be careful not to be near them incase Owen decided to charge,
even if playfully. They fed on the pile of food together but Owen would
occasionally withdraw and let Mzee eat. The visitors were very fascinated and
pleased to have been able to see the famous couple. They promised to come back
to Haller Park and bring their families when they can.
15th September
September 15, 2005, 1:14 am
;)
Owen and Mzee have settled into a comfortable routine friendship. You will
find, most of the time, both Owen & Mzee inside their pond next to each other
as if they have known each other for longer than they actually have. Sometimes
Mzee even rests his head on Owen’s back and then catches a nap.
Owen is still quite shy and often hides behind Mzee or a tree when there are
many visitors looking into his enclosure. He sometimes gets courage and stands
still when our visitors are taking pictures of him but with his head slightly
lowered. It is quite interesting to watch Owen walking at the same pace with
Mzee when we know he can walk much faster. He seems content with walking
behind Mzee then waiting for the old tortoise when he stops after a few
strides.
Toto, the small tortoise, who is also in the enclosure with Owen does not seem
too bothered by their friendship. He is alone quite often looking for food and
tends to walk around a lot. When the three of them are together in close
proximity, I find that Owen will always be lying next to Mzee, maybe because
Mzee is bigger and looks like he could offer better protection than Toto!
Hippos don’t have great eyesight during the day and instinctively use sound
and smell. I think Owen now knows my scent and is used to me.
22nd September
September 21, 2005, 4:45 am
In Kenya we have long rains (rains constantly, is cool like winter but without snow) and short rains (rains for a shorter periods and intermittently). We are now in between the long and short rains and it is quite dry. In Mombasa though it is still sunny and slightly humid with temparatures of about 27 - 30 degrees centigrade.
As the long rains have stopped and the dry season before the short rains begin, Owen seems to be spending more and more time in the pond. I have oberved that his activities have also changed a little. Most of the day is spent separate from Mzee, with Owen either in the water or sleeping in the shade of the bushes, while Mzee is eating. They are now spending only part of the mornings and part of the evenings together. Their round the clock companionship has probably been affected and been interrupted because of the heat of the day which is hard for Owen to withstand if not immersed in water.
However Owen is still very conscious of where Mzee is. If Mzee wanders out of sight, Owen leaves the water to go look for Mzee. When he finds him he goes back to the water. Also if Owen finds Mzee but he is somehow not in his line of vision, he moves position so that he has Mzee in view. Owen has shown no interest so far in the hay he is given to eat, like the other 3 hippos in the Haller Park in diferent enclosures. He eats Mzee's food, the leaves, twigs and low-hanging branches. Owen still waits for Mzee to start eating before he joins in.
A few occasions, especially after feeding, I have seen Owen playfully rolling in the water. After that he moves near Mzee and rests.
23rd September
September 23, 2005, 2:54 am
;)
Hippos are known to use distinct pathways when leaving water to go onto land
and return after feeding. Owen seems to have mastered this behaviour, as he
always leaves the water at one point and goes back to water at the same point.
It doesn't seem to matter where his position on land is.
Today a fascinating incident occurred. Toto (the smaller tortoise), who
usually spends most of her time in the bushes, joined Owen and Mzee for a nap.
She settled right between them, nudging them both apart so that she could fit
in, and eventually fell asleep. It was an interesting thing to see from Toto
as she has never before shown such interest in Owen and Mzee in this way. They
all slept peacefully together until later in the day. Owen was first to wake
up around feeding time. When he noticed that their feed had been brought in,
he started to nudge both Mzee and Toto. When this was not working he started
biting their legs and nudging at the same time! When this also did not work,
Owen gave a loud snort and started eating by himself.
27/9/05
October 14, 2005, 2:59 am
The rains are showing signs
of having arrived, with short showers or cloudy weather almost daily. This
weather favours Owen and allows him to come out of the pond quite early.
Today (26.9.05) Owen has stayed close to Mzee, following him everywhere. Owen
is gaining confidence and becoming bolder, especially when he is with Mzee. He
also shows this when he is on his own. Recently when some visitors came to see
Owen, instead of him going into the wtaer or hiding in the bushes as he tends
to when there are visitors,he is showing them threat signs, as if to tell them
to go away. He yawns widely at them and exhales loudly, and watches the
visitors closely. But he is not hiding anymore or getting startled. Most of
the activity around Owen's enclosure is in the evenings during feeding time in
the park, when most visitors come to see the animals. At this time (4pm
onwards), most of the animals can be seen as they are out and grazing or just
roaming about.
29/9/05
October 14, 2005, 3:00 am
Following the heavy rain in
the early hours of the morning, the day started cloudy and chilly. Owen and
Mzee seemed reluctant to get out of the pond. But as the day went on with bits
of sunshine between cloud cover, they began to show signs of activity but no
indication of wanting to go on ground. It looked like they preferred resting
in water.
Towards noon, they eventually left water and as usual Mzee led the way out. He
started eating with Owen following behind closely.
However the weather changed dramatically. It became so hot and humid that Owen
had to go into hibernation under shades deep in the bush and the visitors who
came around that period left without being able to catch a glimpse of him.
Others came back in the evening when it was cooler and Owen came out on the
open ground to eat with Mzee.
With the unpredicatable weather pattern, the best times to observe this great
pair is around mid-morning and in the evening as these are the times when they
are on the open ground. Visitors seem to have realized it.
04/10/05
October 14, 2005, 3:02 am
The recent days have been bright, sunny and hot. Owen and Mzee are spending more and more time in the bush. However yesterday there was a partial eclipse of the sun, so the weather cooled down enough to bring Owen and Mzee out into the open. To Owen and Mzee it probably looked like the day was ending. They woke up and started eating quickly before Owen led back to the pond. But mzee did not want to go back to the pond. He followed Owen into the water and started pushing him out of his resting position. Owen showed signs of irritation at this; he started yawning and scooping water with his head. But mzee was persistent, so Owen turned and pushed back. This pushing continued until Owen got tired and walked away. But when their food was brought in, they ate together as always, as if there had been no disagreement. The large crowd of visitors watching were finding the incident quite amusing. Some still wondered how this pair had managed to stay friends for so long. Recently Owen and Mzee have become one of the main attractions for Haller Park, with many tourists and local visitors coming to see them. As their caretaker, it is exciting and fascinating to be able to watch this friendship develop.
06/10/05
October 14, 2005, 3:02 am
;)
Other than Owen, we have 3 other hippos at Haller Park. There is Sally and
Potty, who live together and there is Cleopatra (or Cleo) who lives alone. We
hope that Cleo will make a good companion for Owen. Cleo is 13; she was
handreared and comes from Lake Baringo, a northern region of Kenya. For a long
time she has lived alone, but after Owen was rescued last year and brought to
Haller Park, it seemed that he could make a good companion for Cleo. We hope
to introduce them soon and we also hope that they get along with each other.
We have started making plans to introduce them but it will take some time
before it can happen.
Today the box for Owen arrived. Owen will be put in this box when we move him
to Cleo's enclosure, but first I have to try and get him used to it. I know he
likes bananas and dairy cubes, so I can use this food to help get him used to
the box. Many visitors have been asking about the box, and I have to explain
what it is for. Alot of them seem very interested and also excited about the
project. For now it is outside his enclosure, but soon we will put it in so
that he can start getting used to it.
14/10/05
October 14, 2005, 8:21 am
;)
Soon the work on preparing the enclosure for Cleo and Owen to live in will
begin. On the other side of the park where Cleo resides also, the clearing of
the access route to her enclosure began very early in order for work to
commence there.
Owen has recently gained a lot of confidence and courage. Unlike in the past
when he would run into hiding behind Mzee or water, he is now behaving boldly.
Hippos yawn to display their irritation or excitement. Owen occasionally yawns
at visitors and today he actually threatened to charge at me! This sort of
boldness shows that he seems to be quite at home now.
Although he is courageous towards people, he is not when it comes to Mzee.
Everything he does and everywhere he goes depends on what pleases Mzee. Mzee
is also quite bossy. When
Mzee is on land eating and Owen decides to go into water, Mzee would follow
him there and push him trying to get him out of the water. Owen can be
stubborn and doesn’t just oblige that easily. So it takes Mzee a lot of
nudging before he finally succeeds in making Owen do what he wants.
Tourists come in great numbers, some visiting for the second or even third
time just to observe the pair. They get so amazed that just visiting once
doesn’t really seem to satisfy them. I have often heard many of them
enthusiastically promising to follow the progress of the Cleo and Owen
introduction to its completion.
19/10/05
October 18, 2005, 11:57 pm
Although the weather is
generally hot now, we still get the occasional rain showers. When I went to
check on Owen and Mzee today, it had just stopped raining, but the forest was
still dripping as though it was raining. It is hard to believe that Haller
Park was only an empty quarry 30 years ago. The place has changed so much
since I first came here 23 years ago and is now full of so many insects and
birds and animals.
Today Owen was resting out on the ground with Mzee and relaxing in the puddles
and mud. Not much was happening, and the whole forest was still as it usually
becomes after it rains. Owen is definitely getting bigger by the day. Male
hippos tend to be bigger than the female hippos. When looking at him and at
Cleo (Cleo was pictured 06/10/05) it becomes easier to imagine that one day he
may be as big as, or even bigger than Cleo. I really hope that they will get
on.
24/10/05
October 24, 2005, 8:55 am
Today morning it was raining
again and I think that the short rains have already started. Owen has been
spending more time out of the water and so has Cleo, as it is not so hot
especially in the mornings. Owen's box is almost ready to put into his
enclosure. We must decide the best place to put it, and how to put it in,
because it is very heavy, and we don't want to damage any other structures.
The box is reinforced to make sure it is quite hippo-proof (so Owen cannot
break out or injure himself when he is in it).
It is inspiring to see that alot of our visitors in the park and also to our
website are so interested in Owen and Mzee. Many people seemed concerned about
us separating Owen and Mzee. When we move Owen together with Cleo, we will
also be moving Mzee with him. We hope that Mzee will be a source of comfort
for Owen when he is taken to his new location. But we also know that Cleo may
not take very well to Mzee. If this happens, then it would be dangerous for
Mzee to remain with Owen in the same enclosure as Cleo and we would have to
separate them. But we are all hoping that this does not happen. In the end, it
will all depend on Owen, Cleo and Mzee and how they get on with each other.
27/10/05
October 27, 2005, 12:25 am
;)
Now that the rains have come, I am finding many animals in Haller Park out in
the open more and more. The elands, the buffalos, the waterbucks-they all seem
to appreciate the cool air and the wet ground. Even the smaller shyer animals
like the bushbucks and the duikers can now be seen out in the open more often
in the morning and evening hours. The rain is mixed with short periods of
sunshine. But it is fascinating how the scenery changes when it rains. Even
the vegetation looks different.
Owen and Mzee are also enjoying the rain. They are spending more and more time
out on the ground and Owen has also started eating during the day, which he
does not normally do. He did not show any desire to go back to the water and
just wanders around with Mzee.