Death Panel Comes for 47-Year-Old Gertrude the Hippo

Woodland Park Zoo euthanized Gertrude, a 47-year-old, 5,000-lb., female hippo yesterday. I only mention her weight because she was suffering from age-related osteoarthritis, and even with medication displayed lameness and decreased mobility.

Dr. Darin Collins, the zoo’s director of Animal Health explained that while Gertrude’s health had been declining over the last year from her degenerative joint disease (a geriatric issue most kinds of animals face), the last week she’d taken a turn for the worse, and staff was no longer able to manage her pain.

A resident of Woodland Park Zoo since 1966, she was the oldest animal currently living at the zoo, say officials. Two female hippos will still slowly plod the zoo’s African Savanna exhibit: Water Lily (31) and Guadalupe (10).

Both can look forward to reaching Gertrude’s advanced age. Thanks to “optimal nutrition, enriched physical/mental stimulation and preventive medicine, including regular examinations, vaccinations, diagnostics and treatments,” hippos have reached 49 years in captivity (compared to an average of 45 in the wild).

If, with Gertrude’s passing, you need some cheering up, you might like to read about the zoo’s new meerkats. There’s eight of them, who will be taking up residence in a semi-arid savanna habitat as of May 1.