Woodland Park Zoo’s 45-year-old hippo, Water Lily, to be euthanized

Water Lily, a 45-year-old female hippopotamus who has lived at the Woodland Park Zoo since 1979, will be euthanized next week.

Water Lily, also known as Lily, has experienced declining health and quality of life — decreased mobility, unsteadiness and having difficulty rising and getting out of her pool — following a cancer diagnosis in March, the zoo said in a news release Wednesday.

Caretakers believe Lily’s decline is irreversible. Euthanasia is “always very difficult, but we feel strongly that now is the best time to intervene to prevent her from declining to the point where her bad days outnumber her good days,” said Dr. Tim Storms, the zoo’s director of animal health, in a statement included in the release.

Lily was born in the Houston Zoo in 1978 and moved to Seattle a year later.

Lily touched the lives of every keeper who worked with her, the zoo’s lead animal keeper, Lauren Sutherland-Cook, said in the release.

“For those she trusted, you got the privilege of knowing all her favorite things,” Sutherland-Cook said, like “the best spot to scratch her under her chin, her ear wiggles she would give as she surfaced in the pool when she heard you call her and how she would always ask for a treat when she saw you even if it was just lettuce.”

In the wild, hippos typically live to about 40 years old. In zoos, they can live into their 50s, according to the zoo.

Lily lives at the zoo with Guadalupe, also known as Lupe, a 25-year-old hippo who has been there since 2003.

Zoo staff are preparing to support Lupe with additional enrichment and attention as she adjusts. The zoo also said staff are assessing options to move Lupe to another zoo where she can have the company of other hippos.

The zoo’s hippo habitat is more than 40 years old and accounts for almost 20% of the zoo’s total annual water usage, it said in a February 2020 news release. The zoo said it does not intend to bring in new hippos.

People who wish to visit Lily can do so until Sunday, after which the zoo will temporarily close the pathway to the habitat.

Lily will continue to enjoy her pool and outdoor habitat until then and should be visible to those who come to say goodbye, the zoo said.

The zoo asks that people do not leave memorial items at Lily and Lupe’s habitat or inside the zoo, as those items could blow into habitats and cause unintended harm.

People can share memories, photos or support on the zoo’s social media channels.