The Friendship (Supplementary)

Unit 1 – Supplementary

Lesson: The Friendship

The Friendship

On a clear day in December 26, 2004, in the African country of Kenya, a group of hippopotamuses (hippos) were swimming by the ocean. At that time, the Indian Ocean tsunami struck the Kenyan coast. The hippos were carried away into the sea by the tall, strong waves.

The next day the people came to the beach to look at the damage. They couldn’t see the group of hippos. But they did see the baby hippo on some rocks.

A number of people came down the beach to rescue the baby hippo. But it was not easy:

• The baby was 600 pounds (about 270 kg).
• He was tired, frightened, and hungry.
• He kept running away and rushing at the people.
• He was fast and slippery and was not easy to catch.

They used ropes, nets, boats, and cars. But they were able to catch him only after a man called Owen wrestled the baby hippo to the ground. So, they called the baby Owen.

Owen was taken to a wildlife sanctuary. Everyone thought he could be well looked after there. But Owen was not happy at all. He was tired and very frightened.

As soon as he reached the sanctuary, he saw a large greyish tortoise. It looked a bit like his mother. He ran to the creature and hid behind it, just like a baby hippo would hide behind its mother. The animal he chose was a 130-year-old giant tortoise called Mzee.

Mzee was very surprised by Owen. But he let Owen cuddle close to him. Soon the two of them became friends.

At first, Owen did not know what to eat and how to eat. But he followed Mzee and started copying him, just as he would have done with his mother. Mzee taught Owen to eat the leaves, grasses, and things that he ate.

The two became good friends and would:

• walk around together
• swim together
• sleep together
• eat together

Soon they learnt to tell each other what they wanted to do.

This friendship astonished the people in the wildlife park. It was unusual for a mammal and a reptile to bond and become friends. But that is what happened. Owen lost his mother and adopted a giant tortoise and learned to survive.

The two of them became quite famous as a lot of news channels wrote and spoke about them. Even today you will find a lot of videos which show you the story of Owen and Mzee on the Internet.

A. Choose the correct answer from the options given.

1. The baby hippo was named after the -------------
   a. Rescuer b. tsunami c. storm

2. Which sentence is correct?
   a. Mzee did not know why Owen came close to him but he let him stay.
   b. Mzee let Owen come close but he did not like it.

3. What did Mzee teach Owen in the wildlife sanctuary?
   a. To swim b. to eat c. to play

B. Read the passage and answer the questions.

Owen was taken to a wildlife sanctuary. Everyone thought he could be well looked after there. But Owen was not happy at all. He was tired and very frightened. As soon as he reached the sanctuary, he saw a large greyish tortoise. It looked a bit like his mother. He ran to the creature and hid behind it. Just like a baby hippo would hide behind its mother. The animal he chose was a 130-year-old giant tortoise called Mzee. Mzee was very surprised by Owen. But he let Owen cuddle close to him. Soon the two of them became friends.

1. Why was Owen taken to the wildlife sanctuary?
2. Why did Owen hide behind Mzee?
3. Who is Mzee?

C. Rearrange the following sentences in the correct order.

• Owen was taken to a wildlife sanctuary.
• Owen and Mzee became good friends.
• The villagers in Kenya struggled to rescue the hippo.
• Owen (a baby hippo) was separated from his family by a tsunami in 2004.
• Owen meets a 130-year-old tortoise named Mzee.
• A young man named Owen helped catch the hippo and it was named after him.

D. Discuss in pairs and write the answers

1. Do you like the story? Why or why not?
2. Identify the similarities and differences of Owen and Mzee.

PROJECT

Draw a comic strip for the story.
If time is available, share your project with class.

CONNECTING TO SELF

G. Write a caption for these pictures. One is done for you.

Help the needy

STEPS TO SUCCESS

H. Find their group name and write them in the blanks. One is done for you.

e.g. elephant, tiger, lion, monkey – Land animals

1. eel, seal, walrus, seahorse – ____
2. pearl, coral, conch, oil – ____
3. submarine, ship, yacht, ferry – ____
4. kite surfing, scuba diving, parasailing – ____
5. albatross, penguin, pelican, fish hawk – ____

LEARNING LINKS AND REFERENCES

Online

1. https://www.WorldWildlife.org > Species
2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org > wiki > Gahirmatha
3. https://sstcn.org
4. www.incredibleodisha.org > Gahirmatha

Books

1. The World of Turtles and Crocodiles – Zai & Rom Whitaker and Indraneil Das
2. Animal World – Aurobindo Kundu

ICT Corner – Sea Turtles

Experience the life of a sea turtle by playing the sea turtle game

Screenshot of the sea turtle game platform:

Procedure

1. Scan the QR code. It will go to a website.
2. You can see a link for the software / application.
3. Click the link to download the software / application.
4. Open the game and you can move the turtle by using the pointers.
5. Like this you can find more games on sea turtles. Locate the appropriate one and use it.

Steps to install the game

Step – 1
Type the word, ‘sea turtle’ in the search bar of the Android Play Store.

Step – 2
Install the game and play it using the pointers.

Step – 3
You can install similar such applications from Play Store.

Language Activity

Share your views about the aquatic animals with your friend after playing this turtle game.

Practice Practice Exercises

1. The baby hippo was named after the

a. Rescuer,

b. tsunami,

c. storm.

a. Mzee did not know why Owen came close to him but he let him stay.

b. Mzee let Owen come close but he did not like it.

a. To swim

b. to eat

c. to play

1. Why was Owen taken to the wild life sanctuary?

2. Why did Owen hide behind Mzee?

3. Who is Mzee

1. Do you like the story? Why or why not?

2. Identify the similarities and differences of Owen and Mzee

1. eel, seal, walrus, seahorse -

2. pearl, coral, conch, oil -

3. submarine, ship, yacht, ferry -

4. kite surfing, scuba diving, parasailing -

5. albatross, penguin, pelican, fish hawk -