Henry The Hippo, Father Of Famous Hippo Fiona, Dies At 36

Henry the Nile hippopotamus, who is the father of social media sensation Fiona the hippo, has died after suffering from health problems, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden said on Tuesday. He was 36.

The zoo said Henry had been struggling with health issues for months and had lost hundreds of pounds. In the past few days Henry took a turn for the worse and had become weak and unsteady, leading vet staff to make the decision on Monday to euthanize Henry, the zoo said.

“The blood work from Henry’s last exam gave us some hope that he was on the mend, but his appetite never returned and his condition declined rapidly. Vets and his care team worked tirelessly to keep him comfortable and help him fight this illness. Nothing – antibiotics, favorite foods, extra TLC – seemed to turn his condition around,” Christina Gorsuch, Cincinnati Zoo’s Curator of Mammals, said in the zoo statement. “We are all so sad to lose him. Everyone loved him. He was a sweet, gentle giant with a big personality. He enjoyed interacting with his caregivers.”

The zoo says Henry was "smitten" with Bibi, the zoo's 18-year-old female, with whom he was put in the hippo cove in 2016. Soon after, Fiona was born.

"She was the 6th calf that Henry sired over the years and, because she survived against all odds, has become a celebrity and an ambassador for the species," the zoo said. "He couldn’t have left a better legacy."

For most of the summer, Henry, Bibi and Fiona enjoyed their life together, soaking and napping together, the zoo said.

According to statistics provided by the zoo, Nile hippos have a median life expectancy of 35 years. Their numbers have declined by 7 to 20 percent over the past 10 years and will likely continue to decline.

Photo: In this Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, file photo, Henry, a Nile Hippopotamus, rests in his newly built Hippo Cove enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens in Cincinnati. The father of Fiona, who herself became a popular sensation after surviving a six-week premature birth, was euthanized at the zoo Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, morning after suffering from a chronic illness. Zookeepers say he repeatedly lost his appetite, and he hadn't responded to treatments for an internal infection. Photo by John Minchillo, File/Associated Press