Prince Harry the pigmy hippo has died (VIDEO)
Harry playing outside in one of his famed YouTube videos.
Prince Harry the pigmy hippo has died.
According to The Huffington Post, The Cango Wildlife Ranch in Oudtshoorn, South Africa announced Prince Harry died around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning due to complications from surgery.
The adorable baby pygmy hippo was made famous after a video surfaced of the little guy one month after his birth.
"Prince Harry the pygmy hippo was operated on today to repair an umbilical hernia, which had the potential to cause gut strangulation," said a statement on the wildlife ranch's site. "Unfortunately at the conclusion of the operation he went into respiratory arrest and ultimately heart failure. Despite repeated attempts to resuscitate him, Harry passed away on the operating table."
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The ranch went on to thank Harry for helping to raise awareness for his species in his short life.
According to Gawker, "The three-month-old calf was being hand-raised by caretakers at Cango. He was rejected by his mother shortly after birth, but ranch staffers had high hopes for his chances of survival."
According to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, pygmy hippopotamuses are rare in the wild. There may never have been many of them in existence at any one time. They weigh 350 to 550 pounds and stand only about two and a half feet when fully grown. They are severely endangered.
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