Stuart Gibbs

Sad news from the LA Zoo today.  Jabba the Hippo was euthanized yesterday at the age of 28.

Although I go on about how dangerous hippos can be in ‘Belly Up,’ they’re not all as awful as Henry.  Jabba was, from what I can tell, rather mild-mannered as hippos go.  I never heard of him attacking anyone, and while he certainly sullied his pool with poo a lot, he never blasted anyone with it, Henry-style.  (In the picture above, he’s begging for food from one of his keepers, like a 4,000 pound labrador retriever.)

Since Jabba was the closest hippo to my house, I spent a good amount of time watching him while writing ‘Belly Up.’  I didn’t base Henry on him, but it was always interesting to observe people’s reactions — especially children — when they watched him.  Have you ever seen a child see a hippo for the first time?  It’s quite incredible.

This photo of Jabba adorned my blog page for a long time:

Now, for the first time in at least 28 years, there is no hippo at the LA Zoo.  (Although there are still quite a few animatronic ones at Disneyland.)  Such a shame.

Jabba, we’ll miss you.