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 regular enclosure
December 2004 tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Owen and Mzee