Where would you go to escape a hurricane? You and your family would probably pack up the car. You would hit the highway and head somewhere safe and dry.
But did you ever wonder what happens to the animals at a zoo?
In 2017, two mighty storms struck the United States. Hurricane Harvey hit Texas in August. Two weeks later, Hurricane Irma swept through Florida.
Hundreds of thousands of people fled their homes. But zookeepers couldn’t just load elephants and tigers into a truck and zoom off to safety. Why not?
First of all, imagine finding a new place for a 12,000-pound elephant to live. It wouldn’t be easy. Plus animals get stressed when they are moved around. The stress can even kill them.
That’s why zookeepers have to be prepared for a storm. They even hold drills to practice getting ready.
Zoo workers put away anything that could be blown around by forceful winds. They stock up on food. They make sure there is backup electricity.
Each zoo also picks a team of brave workers to remain at the zoo during the storm. They stay there to keep the animals calm and fed.
Most animals are moved into their indoor rooms. The walls of these rooms are strong enough to keep gorillas and lions inside. Usually they’re strong enough to stand up to a hurricane too.
But sometimes, zookeepers have to get creative to protect the animals. Zoo Miami has even moved their flamingos into the public bathroom a few times!
Before one storm, a worker remembers watching the flamingos look at themselves in the mirrors.
The birds were confused—but safe. And in the end, that was all that really mattered. •