Owen and Mzee are a

hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...

and an

Aldabra giant tortoise The Aldabra giant tortoise (''Aldabrachelys gigantea'') is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles. It is one of the largest tortoises in the world.Pritchar ...

, respectively, that became the subject of media attention after forming an unusual bond of friendship. They live in

Haller Park Haller Park is a nature park in Bamburi, Mombasa, on the Kenyan coast. It is the transformation of a quarry wasteland into an ecological area. Haller Park holds a variety of plant and animal species which serve as a recreation spot for tourist ...

Bamburi Bamburi (), from the local bantu words "Ba" (People) and "Mburi" (Goat), is a commercial, industrial and local electoral, administrative and a tourist and residential area on the Kenyan north-coast which extends from the coastline on the Indian ...

, Kenya. Owen was separated from his herd as a juvenile following the December 2004 tsunami and was brought to the Haller Park rescue center. Having no other hippos to interact with, Owen immediately attempted to bond with Mzee ( Swahili for old man), whose large domed shell and brown color resembled an adult hippo. Mzee was reluctant about Owen at first 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 to 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 Craig M. Hatkoff (born March 19, 1954) is an American real estate investor from New York City. Along with his now ex-wife Jane Rosenthal, and Robert De Niro, he co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Institute in 2002. The th ...

, as well as the 2007 sequel ''Owen and Mzee: The Language of Friendship''.

Jeanette Winter Jeanette Winter is an American author and illustrator, best known for her children's books, many of which are about notable women in history, especially artists. Career Jeanette Winter is particularly known for her painted illustration style, ...

also created a picture book about Owen titled "Mama: A True Story". Presented by Vital Theatre and directed by

Stanley Wayne Mathis Stanley Wayne Mathis (born December 1, 1955) is an American actor, singer, and dancer. He played the character Schroeder in the 1999 revival of Clark Gesner's ''You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown''. Career Mathis played Paul in the revival of ''Kis ...

, this story was adapted into an

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

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 Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

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.

References

External links

Owen and Mzee's Official Web SiteLafarge Eco Systems

Owen and Mzee's Web Log
4 March 2006. *There is a 30-minute free documentary available her

Owen and Mzee The Musical Official Web Site
Individual hippopotamuses, Owen

Mzee An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...

Friendship Environment of Kenya 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami Individual animals in Kenya {{eventoedungulate-stub