At 27, Gus is believed to have been the oldest Stellar sea lion on the planet due to most Steller sea lions dying around age 18.
On Sunday, the Oregon Zoo said goodbye to its oldest and gentlest Steller Sea Lion, Gus.
At 27, Gus is believed to have been the oldest Stellar sea lion on the planet, due to most Steller sea lions dying around age 18.
Although Gus’ keepers and visitors will miss his gentle and friendly spirit, Gus lived a full and eventful life.
Gus was born August 11th, 1987 and came to Portland in 2004.
In 2007, Gus became nationally appreciated when National Geographic writer, Jennifer S. Holland, published a picture of Gus and his elephant friend, Chandra, in the bestseller, Unlikely Loves.
In 2007, Gus became nationally appreciated when National Geographic writer, Jennifer S. Holland, published a picture of Gus and his elephant friend, Chandra, in the 2013 bestseller, Unlikely Loves.
In 2012, Gus was featured in an Oregonian article detailing the ways veterinary staff cared for elderly animals at the Oregon Zoo.
After years of monitoring and caring for Gus, zoo staff felt it was time to say goodbye and ease our friend’s suffering, and Gus was humanely euthanized.
“We will miss his morning greeting, his chortling commentary when he wandered into the back area to retire for the evening, and the gentle way he communicated what he wanted and needed from his keepers. It will be a lonely time here for quite a while,” said Amy Cutting.
Watch the YouTube video below to remember Gus.
Related Slideshow: Meet The Oregon Zoo’s Newest Generation Of Babies
Ever wondered what a baby hedgehog is called? Take a guess and find out below!
They look like fuzzy, spotted plush toys, so cute you’d like to hold them close and cuddle.
But at just 6 weeks old, three African lion cubs born at the Oregon Zoo last month are already practicing the skills that will make them among the most fearsome predators on the planet.
In March, three new chicks joined the Oregon Zoo’s Humboldt penguin colony. The birds have grown a lot since then.
They are now nearly as tall as the adult Humboldts, but easy to tell apart by their plumage: They are grayish-brown all over and won’t develop the distinctive black-and-white tuxedo markings for a couple more years.
On March 18, the first California condor chick of the season hatched at the Oregon Zoo's Jonsson Center for WildlifeConservation. The chick chipped its way out of its shell while still inside an incubator.
The California condor was one of the original animals included on the 1973 Endangered Species Act and is classified as critically endangered. In 1982,only 22 individuals remained in the wild and by 1987, the last condors weretaken into captivity in an attempt to save the species.
Tilly, a North American river otter at the Oregon Zoo, gave birth to her second pup last November: Zigzag — or Ziggy for short — named after the 12-mile-long Sandy River tributary that flows down Mount Hood through Zigzag Canyon.
Because of habitat destruction and water pollution, river otters are considered rare outside the region, but are frequently observed in Pacific Northwest waterways.
Juno, who arrived at the zoo May 13, was found orphaned on a California beach in January, and soon made her way to The Oregon Zoo where she has joined two geriatric otters, Thelma and Eddie.
No word on whether Juno thinks Thelma and Eddie's house smells funny.
Wild sea otters have not established colonies off the Oregon coast since 1907, though a few individuals have been sighted, most recently in Depoe Bay in 2009.
In January, the zoo served as a temporary stop for three orphaned cougar cubs, until they were big enough to travel to a new permanent home in North Carolina.
Cougars — also known as mountain lions, pumas and (in Florida) panthers — live mostly in the western United States and Canada.
Surprisingly, loggers saved a species. At least, that's the case for the Zoo's three American black bear cubs who were found inside a log with no mother bear in sight.
The cubs were later taken to the Oregon Zoo, then transfered to a private nonprofit in Austin, Texas.
What’s cuter than a baby hedgehog? How about five baby hedgehogs? Hakuna Matata, an African pygmy hedgehog at the Oregon Zoo, gave birth to a litter of five on July 7.
Their quills are actually modified hairs, which fall out and grow back throughout their lives.
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