As promised: the article enclosed in Squeaky’s 2nd Letter

“Owen & Mzee: Through The Viewfinder”

When I first focused my lens on the baby hippo struggling beneath a fish net in the back of a pick-up, I never anticipated what a remarkable story it would become. Back then, it seemed then to be just a curious quirk to the Asian Tsunami story, but one that would quickly disappear beneath the weight of tragedy welling up on the other side of the Indian Ocean.

But when I returned to check up on Owen a few days later for some more shots, I began to realize that the tiny mammal snuggling up to the centenarian reptile, was at the beginnings of a truly remarkable and captivating relationship. Watching the friendship develop has been a privilege of course, but it has also forced a rethink about what it all means.

Some scientists insist that we cannot and should not apply human emotions to our animal cousins. They argue that we have no way of knowing what is really going on in the minds of these two creatures. We should therefore not presume they are feeling anything remotely the way we do about our friends or family.

But seeing the bond grow between these individuals from two entirely different species and two entirely different ages, it has been hard to see it as anything other than a genuine love and affection. As with humans, it seems to be the little gestures that give it away.

Owen will often stand motionless by his guardian’s shoulder, his head tilted slightly towards Mzee’s. Occasionally, when he thinks nobody is watching, Owen will plant a sloppy lick across Mzee’s cheek; and when Owen is off exploring a corner of the forest, Mzee will wait in a clearing, staring at the bush until his friend finally emerges. The hippo also seems uncommonly protective, charging any stranger that dares venture too close to the tortoise.

Remember: Owen is a wild animal. Mzee has been around humans long enough to be tame, but the baby hippo has spent only a relatively short time in captivity. Even then it has been with very limited human contact. His behavior has not been learned from anyone other than his own family or his genes.

Perhaps that is what makes the story of Owen and Mzee so powerful; the fact that it is so unexpected. After all, every animal behavior expert we’ve spoken to is at a loss to explain it. Herpetologists tell us reptiles are purely creatures of instinct that could never respond to mammal, however affectionate it may be. Yet Mzee seems undeniably happy to have Owen around. Behavioralists say that Owen will eventually grow to understand that the old tortoise is not of his kind and go his own way. Yet every time I go out to take photographs, he seems as bonded as ever to his old friend.

Owen and Mzee have come together only because of the unusual circumstances of Owen’s separation from his family, his transfer to Haller Park, and the fact that they now share a big space to live in. But it seems to be a powerful sign that all of us – hippos and tortoises included – need the support of family and friends; it doesn’t matter if we can’t be near our own blood kin.

Then again, perhaps it doesn’t matter what Owen and Mzee are thinking. Perhaps it is enough that we humans are able to learn something simply from watching them.

-Peter Greste, Photographer