Florida’s Lu, an African hippopotamus that lived at Homosassa Springs, died on Sunday at the age of 65.  

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced the death and said a memorial will be placed at Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park to honor Lu’s life and legacy.  

“For more than 60 years, Lu was not just an animal in the park; he was a friend, a fixture and a treasured member of the community,” DEP said in a release. “Children grew up visiting him, and many returned as adults with children of their own to say hello to the gentle giant.” 

Lu was born in January 1960 and moved to Homosassa Springs in 1964. He starred in Ivan Tors Animal Actors along with other movie and TV appearances in the 1960s. 

After Florida bought the springs in 1989, DEP said overwhelming public support for Lu settled the question of Lu’s future, and he stayed at the springs. Gov. Lawton Chiles granted Lu Florida citizenship in 1991.  

“This rare and heartfelt decree allowed him to remain in the place he had called home for decades and solidified his status as a true Florida icon — the one and only ‘Florida hippopotamus,’” DEP said in the release.