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Owen (left) and Mzee (right)
Owen and Mzee are a hippopotamus and an Aldabra giant tortoise, respectively, that attracted media attention after forming an unusual bond of friendship. They live in Haller Park, Bamburi, Kenya.[1]
Owen was separated from his herd as a juvenile after Sumatra's December 2004 tsunami and was brought to the Haller Park rescue centre. Having no other hippos to interact with, Owen immediately attempted to bond with Mzee (Swahili for an old man),[2] whose large domed shell and brown colour resembled an adult hippo. Mzee was initially reluctant about Owen but grew to like him and got used to Owen around him.
Once it was determined that Owen had grown too large to safely interact with Mzee, a separate enclosure was built for Owen and a new (female) hippo named Cleo, with whom he bonded quickly. With Owen now twice Mzee's size and well on his way to being socialized with other hippos, the famous friends went their separate ways and Mzee was returned to his original enclosure.
The pair were featured in Owen and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship, a 2006 book by Isabella and Craig Hatkoff, as well as the 2007 sequel Owen and Mzee: The Language of Friendship. Jeanette Winter also created a picture book about Owen titled "Mama: A True Story".
Presented by Vital Theatre and directed by Stanley Wayne Mathis, this story was adapted into an Off-Broadway musical, Owen and Mzee The Musical, by Michelle Elliott (book and lyrics) and Danny Larsen (music and lyrics).
The show premiered in 2018 at the Theater at Blessed Sacrament in Manhattan and featured Eric Willingham as Owen and TJ Bolden as Mzee. It was also written as a screenplay by Roger S. H. Schulman, one of the writers of Shrek, but has yet to be produced.
^Odd couple make friends in Kenya, BBC, 2005-01-01, retrieved 2008-06-10
OwenandMzee are a hippopotamus and an Aldabra giant tortoise, respectively, that attracted media attention after forming an unusual bond of friendship...
like OwenandMzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship, based on the unlikely friendship of hippopotamus and an Aldabra giant tortoise Owenand Mzee...
specimen from England OwenandMzee - hippo and tortoise who bonded Fiona - hippo born 6 weeks early at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Lewison...
Patricof. Hatkoff wrote Owen & Mzee: The True Story Of A Remarkable Friendship which describes the friendship between a tortoise and an orphaned hippopotamus...
the media, and they became a symbol of the anti-globalization movement. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Turtles in art. OwenandMzee, a real-life...
variety of native game, and (prior to 2007) the highly covered attraction of OwenandMzee – the friendship of a hippopotamus and a tortoise. Bamburi is...
decides to perform ballet in front of other animals. 102 "Mole and the Baby Bird; OwenandMzee" September 22, 2008 (2008-09-22) A mole learns that some animals...
animal of a different species. For example, OwenandMzee, the odd couple of an orphaned baby hippopotamus and a 130-year-old Aldabran tortoise, display...
a literature award created to recognize high quality books for beginning and transitional readers in kindergarten through fourth grade. It is granted...
5" Oval Platter featuring: OwenandMzee, Haller Park, A Property of Bamburi Cement Limited, Mombasa, Kenya Coffee Cup and Saucer featuring: Mara, Ellen...
and the Strength of the ODM Wave in Kenya's Rift Valley Province, Gabrielle Lynch, African Affairs, Vol. 107, No. 429 (Oct. 2008), pp. 541–568 "Mzee Moi...
The Longevity of Man. Its Facts and Its Fictions. With a prefatory letter to Prof. Owen, C.B., F.R.S. on the limits and frequency of exceptional cases...
members referred to him as "Mzee", a Swahili word meaning "old man". Smith noted that Nyerere had a "respect for spartan living" and an "abhorrence of luxury";...
his suppression of the opposition and continued factionalism within KANU the imposition of one-party rule allowed Mzee ("Old Man") Kenyatta, who had led...
1960s) of the colonial and postcolonial epoch. In 1952 – 1957 he was detained at Kapenguria together with Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and other fellow Kenyan freedom...
illustrations by G. Brian Karas Ages 8–10: Owen & Mzee: The Language of Friendship by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula Kahumbu with photographs...
Mzee Kenyatta, original trade union movement founding member of KAU, philanthropist, legal and religious advocate, a veteran of both world wars and soldier...
self-described trolling that he performed on Reddit. The anonymous post insulted Mzee Mohammed, who had died that year in police custody, by calling him a "good...
for independent booksellers in discovering and spreading the word about books of quality to all stores, and readers, nationwide. Throughout the year, Book...
1920s: the Manyema, and Zaramo. Effendi Plantan, the former head of the ex-askari community, had raised its secretary, Kleist Sykes. Mzee Sudi, the Manyema...
Sharing the Approach and the Experience, Lantern Books, 2003. ISBN 1-59056-040-X App, Daily Nation. "AUGUST 22, 1978: End of an era as Mzee Jomo Kenyatta dies"...
School include Brigadier-General Owen Rhodfrey Mwambapa, Mwakikagile's first cousin and a graduate of Sandhurst and head of the Tanzania Military Academy...
East African Railways and Harbours Administration. Mzee Waziri, Assistant Traffic Inspector, Grade VI, East African Railways and Harbours Administration...
Ramadhani Mzee Hemedi, African Teacher, Junior Service, Department of Education, Tanganyika. Benedictus Joseph Labre Mato, Secretary and Treasurer to...
Indore. Colonial Empire Fong Hing, Coxswain, Water Police Force, Hong Kong. Mzee Abdullah, 1st Sergeant, Customs Department, Kenya. Lawrence Da Cruz, Special...
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