Audubon Zoo survives

[Kurt]

Like Noah at the helm of the Arc, a weary but determined Dan Maloney stood at the gates of the Audubon Zoo on Friday and shook his head as he described the journey he and his skeleton crew of animal caretakers endured while guiding the facility's collection of 1,400 animals through Hurricane Katrina.
Amazingly, only two animals were killed by the Category 4 storm, which devastated the Gulf Coast on Monday, said Maloney, the zoo's vice president and general curator. One other animal was killed in the aftermath.
Maloney said the 58-acre zoo suffered little structural damage from the storm, which he called "the worst natural situation to hit" the 120-year-old institution. The biggest damage was to the trees and horticulture.
Maloney and a team of about a dozen, including two security guards, are caring for and maintaining the zoo's population of more than 350 species. The zoo's normal operation numbers 30 to 40 staffers daily, he said.
"We feel very fortunate," Maloney said. "We're hanging in there. We did our homework. We're doing the best we can."

 

[Miss Kitty]

HOORAY! Thanks for the good news Kurt!

 

[BeachDreamer]

Sounds like someone was well prepared for this storm! Way to go Audubon!

 

[WhiskeyRiver]

Thank you so much for the info re the zoo. I have been so worried! I am sorry for the people in NO, but even more so for the animals, that have no voice and only their "people" to depend on. Unfortunately, many of those people have abandoned "man's best friend" this week. Thanks again for the update! My family and I, Lord willing, will be on 30-A by this time next week! :clap_1:

 

[wishly]

I'm so happy the animals are OK. But I'm sad about the 2 that weren't. What were they?

 

[CastlesOfSand]

Thanks Kurt, good to here some good news! :clap_1:

 

[drsvelte]

More info here on the zoo and aquarium:

http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0830-new_orleans_aquarium.html

 

[drsvelte]

Unfortunately,bad news:

Some Fish Die At Aquarium
Sunday, Sept. 5, 2005 10:50 p.m.

By Jim Varney
Staff writer

While there were plenty of fires still smoldering in New Orleans on Sunday, the black smoke belching from the roof of one of the city?s crown jewels has regrettably stopped. The generator at the Aquarium of the Americas is shot.
Its demise signaled the death of scores of gorgeous animals according to stricken workers who moved through the building with miner?s lights strapped to their heads.
?These were our buddies. We did the best job we could to keep them alive,?? said John Hewitt IV, director of husbandry and a senior vice president at the Audubon Nature Institute.
Near tears Hewitt declined to describe the watery tombs inside the aquarium. Most of the fish in the giant shark tank and the Caribbean reef exhibit are feared dead, as well as the tropical sting rays and other Amazonian fish in the aquarium?s rainforest section.
A similar tragedy reportedly has not befallen the New Orleans Zoo, another prime tourist attraction and a source of tremendous civic pride.
And all is not lost at the zoo?s watery partner at the foot of Canal Street. Hewitt identified the aquarium?s thick green anaconda and white alligators as among the survivors.
?They?re fine and frankly we?re in no hurry to move those guys,?? Hewitt said.
Also making it through Hurricane Katrina were the aquarium?s sea otters, its bald eagle and most of its penguins. Hewitt said in the coming days the aquarium?s staff will try to find alternative homes for the fish and birds.
No decision has been made on a timetable for that move or on whether to drain the tanks before the dead fish are removed.
?We?ve had offers of help from all over the world,?? he said. ?What we?ll do now is access the health of the living animals and get them relocated wherever we can.?