He was a fan favourite at the Singapore Zoo, but Inuka, the 27-year-old polar bear, sadly had to be put down on 25 April due to failing health.

He was the first polar bear to be born in the tropics, and will be the last one in Singapore as the zoo had announced in 2006 that they would not be bringing in any more of the species.

In honour of Inuka, which means “silent stalker” in Inuit, we take a look at 4 other famous zoo residents around the world.

1. Fiona the hippo

1. Fiona the hippo
Getty Images

Fiona is arguably the world’s most famous hippo.

She has merchandise bearing her name and likeness, videos of her rack up millions of views, and she even has an ice cream flavour named after her, the “Chunky Chunky Hippo”.

But when she was born six weeks premature on January 24, 2017 at the Cincinnati Zoo, her keepers weren’t sure she was going to survive.

She weighed just 13 kilograms and had to be hooked up to oxygen tubes.

She received round-the-clock care and every update was posted on social media, quickly turning her into a star and a symbol of resilience.

Her celebrity status was cemented when a story of her photobombing a couple’s engagement went viral. Watch her Facebook series here.

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2. Sir Nils Olav the king penguin

2. Sir Nils Olav the king penguin
Wikimedia

Sir Nils Olav, a resident of Edinburgh Zoo, is the only knighted penguin in the world, having received the honour in 2008.

A Norwegian family presented the zoo with its first king penguin in 1913.

The current Nils Olav is actually the third penguin to bear the name, since penguins only live about 15 years. He’s named after Major Nils Egelien, who organised the adoption in 1972, and the then-King of Norway, King Olav.

He’s also an honorary member of the King of Norway’s guard and was promoted to the title of Brigadier in August 2016.

3. Diego the giant tortoise

3. Diego the giant tortoise
Wikipedia

Diego is certainly doing more than his fair share of work to preserve his species; the over 100-year-old giant tortoise has sired anywhere between 350 and 800 progenies.

Diego was formerly from the San Diego Zoo but was returned to the Galapagos in 1977 to the Charles Darwin Research Station.

The species was declared critically endangered in the 1960s when there were only two males and 12 females left in the wild.

Suffice it to say that the species is no longer threatened. Way to go, Diego!

He was a fan favourite at the Singapore Zoo, but Inuka, the 27-year-old polar bear, sadly had to be put down on 25 April due to failing health.

He was the first polar bear to be born in the tropics, and will be the last one in Singapore as the zoo had announced in 2006 that they would not be bringing in any more of the species.

In honour of Inuka, which means “silent stalker” in Inuit, we take a look at 4 other famous zoo residents around the world.

4. Winter the bottlenose dolphin

4. Winter the bottlenose dolphin
Pexels

Winter was just a baby when she was caught in a crab line near Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The two-month-old was rushed to Clearwater Marine Aquarium but unfortunately, the line had cut off the circulation to her tail flukes and her tail could not be saved.

She tried to learn to swim without her tail but it was challenging.

Fortunately, the world’s leading prosthetists managed to design a working prosthetic tail for her, which she now wears.

Winter’s story was the inspiration for the 2011 movie, Dolphin Tale. You can follow Winter on Facebook here.

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