Thursday, 30 April 2009

The Hippo and the Tortoise

Last night I went to Weight Watchers - the first time in two weeks. When I go on holiday, I forget about my diet and I eat what I want to eat (within reason). When I was in Hubby's Homeland, I got a little carried away with the lovely foods, and of course having a Burger King in such close proximity; and let’s just say, I ate too much.

So all through work yesterday I was dreading stepping on the scales, and I actually had butterflies in my stomach when I was about to go on them; but I was pleasantly surprised. I’d lost half a pound. Unfortunately I don’t think it’s going to stay that way; I suspect my body is going to go stealth on me and pile on the pounds for next week instead. But for now, I’m basking in my success!

I wanted to share something with you all though, because I thought it was heart-warming. And we all need a little pick-me-up every now and again, so here’s what greeted me in my inbox this morning:

“Much of life can never be explained but only witnessed”

A young hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing 650lbs, was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean, then forced back to shore when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on 26th December 2004, before wildlife rangers rescued him.

Owen has since formed a strong bond with a male giant tortoise. The tortoise, thought to be 100 years old, has adopted this young hippo, and seems to be very happy acting as a surrogate father.

'After Owen was swept away and lost his mother, he was traumatised. Fortunately, he and the tortoise have established a strong bond. They swim, eat and sleep together,' Mr Kahumbu, a local ecologist said. 'The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it would follow its mother. If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, as if protecting its biological mother.'

'The hippo is a young baby, he was left at a very tender age and by nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their mothers for four years,' he explained.

This story shows that our differences don't matter much when we need the comfort of another. We could all learn a lesson from these two creatures. Look beyond the differences and find a way to walk the path together.

If you would like to see this story in a short video, click here.

2 comments:

C. Beth said...

Congrats on the weight loss! That's great!

Thanks for putting my Blogging with discipline button on your blog. :)

Anonymous said...

Aww, that is so adorable. I love stories like these. They just make your day! Congrats on the weight loss.