SAN FRANCISCO -- Mama Cuddles had been a regular attraction at the San Francisco Zoo for more than four decades after arriving in 1963 from the Philadelphia Zoological Gardens at the age of 1. Nile hippos live up to 45 years in the wild, and often a few years longer in zoos, according to the National Zoological Park, part of the Smithsonian Institution."She was an old girl," said San Francisco Zoo spokeswoman Lora LaMarca.For the past three years, Cuddles has received arthritis medication daily and pain medicine as needed. Earlier this week, she had a great deal of difficulty controlling her hind legs and was not walking or moving well, LaMarca said.Despite additional care from zoo veterinarians, Mama Cuddles continued to weaken and could not stand up on her back legs, officials said.Zookeepers and veterinarian teams decided to euthanize Cuddles on Wednesday.The hippo mothered 16 calves as part of a program designed to maintain a genetically diverse population of vulnerable species in captivity for education and conservation efforts, zoo officials said.The African Nile hippo is considered a vulnerable species with an estimated worldwide population between 125,000 and 150,000 -- a decline of 20 percent since 1996.Cuddles' death comes more than a year after her longtime mate, Puddles, died. That hippo displayed signs of respiratory distress and had difficulty standing after the pair was moved by crane to temporary quarters in the old Pachyderm Building while their habitat was revamped. Puddles was 44 years old. Cuddles showed no ill effects at the time of that May 2007 move.Cuddles is the second zoo animal to die in less than three weeks.A pregnant 9-year-old giraffe died July 29. A necropsy showed several problems, including enlarged lymph nodes, inflammation within the giraffe's gastrointestinal tract and more than 100 black masses throughout the body, but zoo officials said further tests were required to determine the cause of death.(E-mail John Cote at jcote(at)sfchronicle.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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