The tortoise and the hippo

When the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami struck the coast of Kenya, a baby hippo named Owen was swept out to sea and separated from his family.After being rescued, he was taken to Haller Park in Mombasa, where he formed an extraordinary bond with Mzee, a 130-year-old giant tortoise. Their unlikely friendship captured the world's imagination and became an international sensation.In 2023, conservationist Dr Paula Kahumbu told Gill Kearsley the remarkable story of Owen and Mzee.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.(Photo:Owen and Mzee in January 2005. Credit: Peter Greste/AFP via Getty Images)