JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Hannah Shirley is living her best life - a pool to lounge in every day, sprinkler showers and back rubs with a broom. And yes, I did say broom. That is because Hannah Shirley is a pygmy hippopotamus, and this week, she became the oldest living pygmy hippo in managed care ever in the world. Hannah surpassed the previous record of 51 years, six months and two days. It's an extraordinary milestone for a species that usually lives 30 to 50 years in the wild. Before her posh life at San Diego Humane Society's Ramona Wildlife Center, she was living in a backyard in Escondido, California. And the man who rescued her more than two decades ago, Andy Blue, is here with us today to tell us all about it. Hi there.
ANDY BLUE: Hi. Thanks for having me.
SUMMERS: OK, so take us back to the year 2002. You're the animal care manager at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and you get this phone call about a pygmy hippo in a backyard. Pick up the story from here. Tell us what happens next.
BLUE: I had a colleague who operated a facility in Ramona called the Fund for Animals, and he called me and just said, hey, we had a report of a hippo in someone's backyard. And he didn't really have any experience with that sort of thing, so he asked if there was something I could do to help him out. And so I hooked up a small horse trailer to my truck and drove over there. It was pretty close to the Safari Park in San Diego, and sure enough, I peeked over the fence and there was this little pygmy hippo in a - what we call a pipe corral, which is, you know, similar to what you would have a horse in, or goats. And, you know, she was very calm. She was friendly and tractable and came up for carrots or treats. And unfortunately, to have - keep an animal like that in city limits is not legal, so she was seized by California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and they just asked if I could figure out a way to get her into a trailer.
SUMMERS: OK, I've got to jump in here with just a super-practical question. How did you get her into the trailer?
BLUE: We were able to build a small chute - maybe about a 10- or 12-foot-long chute - out of hay bales, and then we parked the trailer backed up against this little chute. So I opened up the gate and made a little trail of carrots and apples from the corral down the chute, into the trailer. And she just walked out really slow and calmly. And once she got into the chute, I kind of dropped in behind her with a sheet of plywood, and then as she moved up, I just slowly inched my way up behind her and then kind of walked her into the trailer. And there was no problem at all.
SUMMERS: Now, you brought her to the Wildlife Center, but then you all sort of parted ways, so to speak. You worked elsewhere but would eventually find your way back to the Ramona Wildlife Center. What was it like being reunited with Hannah?
BLUE: You know, it was great to see her. Not that she recognized me or anything, but I certainly recognized her. And pygmy hippos come from Western Africa, which is - they're not like the big river hippos you see in the wild. They come from forests, so they're not used to being out in the - in a big open area. And this Southern California sun can actually, you know, cause sunburn on her and affect her vision, so we really wanted to make sure she had a lot of shade and a lot of cover. And so the additional area that we gave her had a big natural pond in it, so she spends most of her time in that pond, honestly. She loves her pool, but she'll go in the pond. And she's very popular with the team up there. The staff does amazing work with her. As you said, they - I see them daily with a scrub brush - a broom - and she'll walk right up to the bars and kind of turn sideways. You can scratch her like a big dog.
SUMMERS: Oh, I love that. Andy, at this point, you have known Hannah for years. As we celebrate this milestone for her, is there a particular memory or moment with Hannah that comes to mind for you?
BLUE: I was at the Ramona Wildlife Center as the director for about three years, and every year, when her birthday came up, the staff up there would build these amazing little birthday cakes for her, and everybody had party hats on. And, you know, that facility is a wildlife rescue center, so the majority of animals that come through there are injured or orphaned or sick. And so to be able to kind of step out of that hospital environment and then walk over and see her and - I did it every day while I was there. I would just walk down there and lean on the fence and chat with her a little bit, and I think everyone did. And everyone enjoyed taking care of her, and still does.
SUMMERS: That was Andy Blue. He's the former campus director of the Ramona Wildlife Center. Andy, thank you so much.
BLUE: You're welcome. It's great chatting with you.
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