Different generations of Calgarians grew up visiting him and some zookeepers worked with him for decades. But on Wednesday, the Calgary Zoo said a final farewell to its oldest resident, 47-year-old Foggy the river hippopotamus, who was humanely euthanized after suffering age-related health issues, said curator Jamie Dorgan. “Foggy had ongoing arthritis issues for quite awhile, but more recently we noticed he had difficulty getting out of the pool and even standing,” said Dorgan, adding the latter issue was suspected to be circulatory problem and posed a risk the hippo would one day become stuck in the pool. “We were not comfortable pushing it further and waiting for that day.”
Hippos in captivity live to their mid-to-late 30s on average, said Dorgan. Foggy, who weighed in at about 1,700 kg and earned his name because his bellow sounded like a foghorn, moved in May 19, 1966, nine months after he was born ay the Houston Zoo. “He’s an icon within the city,” said Dorgan. “Everyone who knows the Calgary Zoo knows Foggy. “It’s difficult losing a longtime friend.” The zoo has one remaining hippo, a 25-year-old female named Sparky, who gave birth to three of the seven calves Foggy sired in his life. Dorgan said the zoo has been looking into getting another hippo in Calgary for the last while. “We’re hopefully getting closer to having another hippo come here,” he said, though no specific time line is known. “We don’t want to have Sparky alone for longer than we have to. “(Hippos) are social animals, in the wild they live in pods, so we want her to have a buddy — it’s a Number 1 priority for us right now.”
The zoo says Foggy was an ambassador for his species, Hippos represent the zoo’s flagship conservation outreach project, the Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary in Ghana, West Africa, where the Calgary Zoo has supported hippo conservation there since 1999. Wild hippo populations are considered vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature with a decline up to 20% in the last decade alone. While cards can be dropped off at Guest Relations and memories and photos of Foggy from his nearly-half-century life in Calgary can be shared on the zoo’s Facebook page, any donations made can support the Conservation Outreach program, suggests the zoo. Those interested can visit calgaryzoo.com/donate for details.
As news worthy as 180/200/220kph?
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