Interesting Story of Animals
September 12, 2011 Category :Animals Off
Owen the Hippo and Mzee the Tortoise
A tsunami swept the shores of Indonesia in December of 2004 claiming countless lives. This tsunami also brought gigantic ocean waves up to the shores of Kenya. There, a family of hippopotamus was carried into the sea. Only one baby hippo survived that horrific day.
The baby hippo was named Owen after the rescuer who risked his own safety for its rescue. Owen was then sent to Lafarge Ecosystems in Mombasa, Kenya as his new home. After being released, Owen immediately rushed into a 130-year-old tortoise named Mzee just like a baby hippo which has found its mother. The funny thing is that Mzee eventually accepted Owen and two never left each other’s side. The two would then spend their time together in a pond. Sometimes they could also be seen walking together, Mzee walking slowly behind the more energetic baby hippo! The sad day arrived when Owen was eventually relocated to a larger pond where he is now with other hippos!
Hachiko The Loyal Dog
Perhaps, there would never be any dog story that captured my heart like how Hachiko did. Hachiko was an Akita dog born in Akita Prefecture in Japan. Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor at the University of Tokyo, took Hachiko as his pet in 1924. During the life of Ueno, Hachiko would wait for him at the end of each day in the nearby Shibuya Train Station. This continued for more than a year.Then a fateful day in May 1925 happened. Professor Ueno died and never returned to the train station where Hachiko was waiting. What was so touching is that Hachiko, for the next nine years, never failed to wait at the end of each day at the Shibuya Station for his master to arrive.
The people who had seen Hachik? and Professor Ueno together each day in the past brought Hachik? treats and food to nourish him during his wait. Hachiko died in March 1935 and was found in a street in Shibuya. This story shows how loyal pet dogs could be to us. Today, a bronze statue stands in the place where Hachiko waited for Professor Ueno in remembrance for his loyalty to his master. Every year on April 8, a solemn ceremony of remembrance at Tokyo’s Shibuya railroad station honors Hachiko’s devotion for Professor Ueno. A flock of dog lovers turn out to honor his memory.
