GenQ - For the not so straight individual

Queer in its true definition means ?odd, strange, or eccentric?, and this couple certainly fits the bill.

This whole year has been rocked by one devastation to another since late last December. From that unforgettable tsunami disaster, to the earthquakes, mudslides, wars, hurricanes, and dishonest politicians we've all been witness to our fair share of tragedy (although some more so than others). But it is a story and images like these that make us love Pandora even though she opened that dreadful box. It is a story that does make us all fuzzy and warm inside when we know about it.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you 2005's best Queer Couple, and one of the most heart-warming stories I've read in years. Too bad this couple isn't human. It is a story of a little baby hippo named Owen, and it's surrogate father Mzee ? a 130-year-old tortoise.

It has been approximately 1 year since that fateful day when the tsunami hit. Human families were not the only ones lost in this tragedy, as an entire family of Hippos was swept down the Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean and, when the waves from the tsunami struck again, then forced back to the Kenyan coast before being rescued by wildlife officials.

The baby hippo was stranded in the reef the next day, with his family nowhere in sight. Wildlife officials worked hard to rescue the baby animal. He was tired and angry, and it took a tackle from a volunteer named Owen (where the baby hippo got his name from) until the baby animal was pinned to the ground. Lafarge Ecosystems provided a sanctuary for the orphan, and Owen was driven to Haller Park (formerly Bamburi Nature Trail) in Mombasa.

The moment of release in the bark, Owen ran to Mzee (the giant 130-year-old tortoise) who happened to be nearby. I'm sure the tortoise must have been surprised to see a baby hippopotamus cowering behind it, but he welcomed the baby nonetheless. Right then was when it all began. An old tortoise became a baby hippo's foster parent. They eat, sleep, and after several nudges from Owen's part, they take walks together. When Owen feels that Mzee is being threatened, he becomes angry and takes on an ?aggressive stance, as if protecting his biological mother? Dr. Paula Kahumbu explained, Lafarge Ecosystem's general manager. The park being open to the general public, hundreds have come to see this amazing sight.

Which I suppose just goes to show that in any form, love isn't so odd after all.