You don’t have to be a genius, or a human, for that matter, to know all about arthritis. Just ask Bertie a resident hippo at Denver Zoo since 1958. Due to his advanced age and carrying around 5,000 hippo pounds for 51 years, he’s developed this disease. A disease that’s the second most prevalent chronic health problem in America and the leading cause of human disability. As Bertie knows, it’s hard to get through the day when your joints hurt as much as his used to.

Bertie’s trainers first noticed a problem with him back in 1998. He was limping on his front and rear legs and they could just see the pain in his eyes. So the trainers did everything in their power to help relieve some of the pressure on this old, gentle giant.

Bertie was first given Ibuprofen, and within five days, he was walking better. But after five weeks, his handlers weren’t seeing any more progress. So they started him on a new regiment of drugs mixed into his grain that led to steady improvement.

But as far as this disease goes, ol’ Bertie’s still not out of the woods. Some days are better than others. That’s why he spends a lot of time indoors when it’s cold outside and lives a good portion of his life in the water to help ease the weight on his joints. If only humans had this luxury.