500-pound creature with an even bigger life story to celebrate 89th birthday in Oregon
Herman the sturgeon, “Oregon’s most famous fish,” has seen it all during his “long and storied life.”
“The rumors about fishnappings, physical assaults, a music video? It’s all true,” the Oregon Wildlife Foundation said in a June 20 news release announcing Herman’s upcoming birthday celebration.
The 500-pound, 10-foot-long bottom-feeder is set to celebrate his 89th birthday on Saturday, June 24, according to the nonprofit.
“Herman represents perseverance in the face of adversity, an admirable quality no matter what species you are,” Tim Greseth, OWF executive director, said in the release.
Herman’s association with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife dates back to the 1930s, OFW said.
The nonprofit said Herman, who “from a long line of prehistoric bottom-feeders,” was a fixture of the Oregon State Fair from the 1930s through the 1980s.
However, “life on the road is hard so ODFW stopped transporting Herman and started planning for a permanent exhibit space,” the nonprofit said.
In 1998, the Oregon Wildlife Foundation said Herman moved into his permanent habitat where he still resides today: Bonneville Fish Hatchery, which has become “one of Oregon’s top visitor attractions.” The facility is in Cascade Locks, about 40 miles northeast of Portland.
“Some people just stand down here and look at the fish, there is something about watching fish that never gets old,” Brett Requa, production manager at the facility, told Oregon.com. “We have a number of sturgeon and trout in the pond and people from all over come to see Herman and the other fish.”
Herman was such a staple at the fair, nonetheless, that efforts have been made to bring him back “home,” The Register-Guard reported in 2006.
“Every year, fairgoers ask us, where’s Herman?” Steve Williams, administrator of the ODFW’s Fish Division, told the newspaper at the time.
Herman’s legendary stature has led some to compare him to mystical beings.
“Herman is like Santa Claus,” Michelle Dennehy with ODFW told the newspaper. “He’s ageless.”
The white sturgeon also seems to be indestructible.
As the Eagle Creek Fire raged through the Columbia River Gorge in 2017, Herman remained unharmed, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
This, however, wasn’t even his first encounter with danger, the outlet reported.
In 1983, he was kidnapped from Roaring River hatchery in Scio, about 30 miles southeast of Salem, Oregon Public Broadcasting said. He was also once stabbed with a knife by a man who jumped into his pond.
“Herman has had a wild life,” Dennehy told the outlet.
Over the decades, Herman has become so well-known that he has “his own Facebook page, starred in a National Geographic documentary, and was in a music video,” according to the state’s website. The indie folk rap group The Uncluded featured him in the video for the song “The Aquarium.”
OFW said Herman’s birthday celebration from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. will include cupcakes and plenty of opportunities to snap an “ussie.”
White sturgeon “can live to be over 100 years old,” according to the Oregon Zoo.
This story was originally published June 21, 2023 at 12:24 PM with the headline "500-pound creature with an even bigger life story to celebrate 89th birthday in Oregon."
