Why zoos aren’t evacuating animals
Stress of moving can pose danger, so most will ride out storm in sturdy buildings
Imagine trying to evacuate a tiger, rhino or gorilla during the throes of a major hurricane.
The panic from such a scenario “can kill these animals,” who could hatch a desperate plan to escape, causing them to run into things and overheat, said Zoo Miami spokesman Ron Magill.
Unlike household pets, wild animals in a zoo are not used to being moved, he said.
That’s why Zoo Miami isn’t evacuating any of its 3,000 animals, a tactic used by several other Florida zoos as Hurricane Irma approaches. The solution: Keep the animals in fortified buildings until the storm passes.
In Miami, most animals will stay in their “night houses,” sturdy structures located behind the enclosures most zoo visitors see. Magill said they’re strong enough to withstand a hurricane because they’re designed to contain powerful tigers and gorillas.
The rest of Zoo Miami’s animals — smaller mammals and birds — will be placed into kennels and moved within buildings.
During Hurricane Andrew, which devastated South Florida in 1992, Zoo Miami placed a flock of flamingos in a men’s bathroom. Magill said improvements to the zoo mean that won’t happen this time around.
Up north at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, the facility placed plastic and plywood on its night houses, where the facility’s 2,000 animals will stay during Irma.
Zoo spokeswoman JJ Vitale also argued against evacuating, saying it would be “so stressful for the animal.” The facility set up video surveillance to keep an eye on the animals, and a team will stay throughout the storm.
Brevard Zoo will house larger animals in night houses and smaller animals in its veterinary hospital.
When Hurricane Matthew hit the zoo last year, a little red kangaroo was ejected from her mother’s pouch.
Lauren Hinson, the zoo’s collection manager, said deer and gray foxes become too stressed and thus will stay outdoors.
“Most (animals) kind of hunker down, just kind of stay still, stay in one spot, kind of let it pass,” she said. “There are some that can get a little nervous and flighty. But for the most part, they deal with it kind of how they would in the wild.”