The latest victim of the Earthquake and Tsunami last month is Satsuki a 39 year old Hippopotamus located at the Tokyo Zoo. She wasn't hurt during the Earthquake which she spent in her wading pool she was injured about an hour later when she finally got out of her pool and was walking to her the hippo lost her balance and twisted her left front leg as she walked back to her cage an hour after the shaking stopped. Zoo Keepers believe the shock and stress from the major Earthquake disoriented Satsuki.
She sprained her leg which Zoo Keepers were able to help but over the course of the month since the major Earthquake and Tsunami devastated Japan she had repeated incidents of tripping, stumbling, and falling all re-injuring her leg to the point where she could no longer support her massive weight. Satsuki weighing in at 5,000lbs and stressed out and upset made helping her any long impossible for Zoo Keepers and specialized veterinarians. She was in chronic pain from continually re-injuring herself but by keeping her still to help her heal it was shutting down her major organs.
Satsuki's parents Dekao and mother Nagoya gave birth to her in May 1971. While most hippos are born underwater, Satsuki was delivered on the ground. Over the course of her lifetime which should have been between 40 - 45 years she gave birth to six calves. Only one of her babies is still alive, and is housed at the zoo in Okinawa.