The Oregon Zoo said goodbye to a member of the otter family Wednesday.
Tilly, the zoo’s oldest North American river otter, was humanely euthanized at age 16, due to advanced age, according to a press release.
The median life expectancy for river otters is 12.9 years, the zoo said, and Tilly was considered geriatric.
“This is a very sad time, especially for Tilly’s care staff,” said Jen Osburn Eliot, who oversees the zoo’s North America area, in the press release. “Some of our keepers were here the day she first arrived in 2009 as a tiny pup. She overcame adversity just to survive, and she helped other otters do the same.”
Tilly, who was named after the Tillamook River, was known for being a great mom to her four pups, Mo, Ziggy, Tucker and Nellie, and adopted pups who came through the zoo, including the zoo’s current river otters, Flora and Hobson.
She was rescued as an orphan near Johnson Creek in 2009, wounded by an animal attack and malnourished.
She also once appeared on national television. In 2012, “30 Rock” aired a photo of her, calling out her resemblance to Tracy Morgan.
S7E4 “Unwindulax”