NAIROBI:

A 120-year-old giant tortoise living in a Kenyan sanctuary has become inseparable from a baby hippo rescued by game wardens. The year-old hippo (Owen) was rescued last month, suffering from dehydration after being separated from his herd in a river that drains into the Indian Ocean. Sabine Baer, rehabilitation and ecosystems manager at the park, said the hippo’s chances of survival in another herd were slim, predicting that a dominant male would have killed him. However, Owen’s relationship with the tortoise may end soon as the sanctuary plans to place Owen with a lonely female hippo.