Oh, this is too bad. I would have like to have met Nereus. Breaking news from the Indianapolis Zoo:
We are very sad to report that our Pacific walrus Nereus has died from complications of a sudden and devastating illness. Nereus died yesterday afternoon during a medical procedure to treat his illiness, and the results of the necropsy performed last evening (the animal version of an autopsy) revealed that he suffered from a terminal condition caused by a very large mass that damaged his internal organs and compromised his spine, resulting in neurological problems. He will be very much missed by the entire Zoo family, including staff, members, visitors, donors, volunteers and friends.
Many, many people are posting pictures and memories to the Zoo’s Facebook page – if you ever met Nereus, or wish that you had, you should visit the page.
Turns out Nereus was a social media user with an amusing twitter feed @NereusWalrus
I´m so sad!!! I watched Nereus on Animal Planet many years ago, and i fell in love with him! Now i was looking for some pictures just to show them to my partner and i see this… i´m sure he will be missed…
Leticia (form Uruguay!)
I know. I didn’t discover Nereus was in Growing Up Walrus until after his death. It’s amazing how many people connected with him. Also how distinctive he was an an adult – I can recognize him in pictures everytime! I posted about Nereus in Growing Up Walrus here: http://www.worldwidewalrusweb.com/2010/12/15/growing-up-walrus/