Water Lily is pictured in the Woodland Park Zoo hippo habitat in 2015 in Seattle. blog post Wednesday
. "Veterinarians and caretakers have made a difficult end-of-life decision for the 45-year-old hippo, affectionately known as Lily, who will be humanely euthanized early next week. She will be surrounded by her loving animal keepers and an empathetic, expert team of veterinary animal health professionals."
The zoo said people can visit Lily through Sunday as she "will continue to enjoy her pool and outdoor habitat."“Everyone who worked with Lily realized how special she was," Lead Animal Keeper Lauren Sutherland-Cook said in the blog. "For those she trusted, you got the privilege of knowing all her favorite things.
Lily was born in August 1978 at the Houston Zoo and moved to Woodland Park Zoo in October 1979, according to the Seattle zoo. She shares a habitat with Lupe, a hippo who arrived at Woodland Park Zoo in 2003. The zoo said staff is preparing to support Lupe during this time and will continue to provide "the best possible care from her animal keepers and veterinarians and will receive extra enrichment and special attention as she adjusts.
“I am so thankful for our dedicated and experienced hippo caretakers who have been closely monitoring Lily for signs of decline since her cancer diagnosis, which they are now seeing and that we believe are irreversible," Director of Animal Health Dr. Tim Storms said. "A euthanasia decision 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 good days outnumber her bad days.