Sweetie Pie, a 53-year-old hippopotamus at the Sedgwick County Zoo, (SCZ), died on August 27, 2025. She succumbed to ongoing health issues due to her advanced age.
In recent years, keepers and veterinarians at SCZ had been providing specialized geriatric care to keep
Sweetie Pie comfortable and ensure she maintained a good quality of life. In the past few weeks, her health began to decline and the decision was made to humanely euthanize her in order to prevent any suffering. A necropsy will be performed to further understand the extent of Sweetie Pie’s health conditions.
Sweetie Pie was born November 2, 1971, at the Denver Zoo and has called Sedgwick County Zoo home since 1972. The following year, she was joined by Pudgie and the two lived together at SCZ until Pudgie passed in 2023.
Sweetie Pie was cared for by numerous keepers during her time at Sedgwick County Zoo, and she was loved and adored by thousands of guests. She enjoyed scratches and rubs from staff, as well as her favorite treats, watermelon and pumpkin.
“Sweetie Pie was beloved by all her keepers and anyone that ever got the chance to meet her,” says Keeper Kayla Jordan. “There’s no better namesake than hers as she was truly the sweetest of girls. Sweetie Pie has touched thousands of lives and we are all better for it. She will be forever missed, but the impact she has created will be everlasting in all our hearts.”
In 2018, the Zoo unveiled a new Strategic Master Plan – a roadmap for the future of Sedgwick County Zoo. Due to significant advancements in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ welfare standards and habitat requirements for hippos in the care of accredited institutions, it was determined that a new space for hippos would not be included in the Master Plan. Now that both of the Zoo’s hippos are gone, the area will be repurposed, though plans for future development have not been decided at this time.