Celebrate Herman the Sturgeon’s 89th Birthday at Bonneville Hatchery and Sturgeon Viewing Center

Herman the Sturgeon is celebrating his 89th birthday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 24 at Bonneville Fish Hatchery’s Sturgeon Viewing and Interpretive Center, 70543 N.E. Herman Loop, in Cascade Locks, Ore. Herman’s birthday schedule includes short talks about sturgeon, Herman the Sturgeon in costume, a coloring station for kids and self-guided tours of the Sturgeon Interpretive Center. Complimentary cupcakes and treats will be served from noon to 1 p.m.

Beginning in the 1930s and up until the 1980s, one Herman (or another) was a mainstay at the Oregon State Fair’s Animal Village exhibit. To keep Herman safe and give him a better environment, a permanent Sturgeon Viewing and Interpretive Center was constructed at Bonneville Fish Hatchery. Dedicated on Sept. 27, 1998, the center is one of Oregon’s top visitor attractions. Herman is approximately 10 feet long and weighs over 500 pounds. Herman comes from a long line of prehistoric bottom-feeders which evolved during the Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era. Sturgeon have changed very little since then, but their populations are now declining. White sturgeon are also subject to increased predation by marine mammals like sea lions. With fewer salmon, sea lions now hunt and eat sturgeon.