Elephants Help with Katrina Cleanup
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Elephants Help Clean Up New Orleans Zoo By JESSICA BUJOL, Associated Press Writer
Sat Oct 15, 7:42 AM ET
Panya and Jean are doing their best to help remove the debris at Audubon Zoo, mostly by eating it. Oak leaves and bark are a rare treat for the two Asian elephants, and Hurricane Katrina left them with a smorgasbord.
Though it escaped major flooding, the zoo is closed to the public for the time being. The animals are fine, but the zoo isn't in any shape to open. In the Jaguar Jungle exhibit, the giant bamboo stalks that once shaded a winding stone path have been blown sideways by Katrina's winds. Piles of debris still dot the landscape.
Most of the zoo's residents and a dozen or so key staff members stayed put for Katrina. The caretakers hunkered down in the reptile house, a building designed to withstand a hurricane and serve as a shelter. Food for animals and humans alike had been stockpiled.
"We have been planning for this for years," zoo spokeswoman Sarah Burnette said, adding that Audubon had picked up survival tips from the Miami zoo after Hurricane Andrew.
Elephants manager Ellen Frosch was among those who rode out the storm. Though it was windy and rainy, she said she wasn't worried after locking the elephants in their barn and heading to the reptile house. They were soon back to their routine, roaming the zoo in the early hours with their keepers for exercise.
Once the storm blew past, zoos from around the country sent in supplies and are now working on a fundraising campaign for Audubon. As a nonprofit, the zoo relies on the income generated by visitors to feed the animals; the assistance provided was crucial, Burnette said. Panya and Jean alone eat 150 pounds of food per day.
There are a few less residents to feed; two otters and a raccoon did not survive, and the sea lions were relocated to zoos in Texas because they require such specialized conditions.
Zoo officials will meet next week to discuss when and how to re-open, but that likely won't be before Thanksgiving. That news is likely to disappoint the elephants and orangutans, who are used to interacting with crowds every day.
"I think they miss the people," primates keeper Cyndi Ratliff said as she watched orangutans Feliz, Berani and Blaze swing upside down. Feliz held out her leathery hand, her way of asking for treats.
The two pachyderms, normally used to welcoming hordes of pint-sized visitors and putting on a daily show, entertained National Guardsmen who had camped out in the zoo's front yard. Frosch discovered them hoisting logs and dropping them again and again as the soldiers cheered them on.
___
On the Net:
http://www.auduboninstitute.org
Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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Elephants Help Clean Up New Orleans Zoo By JESSICA BUJOL, Associated Press Writer
Sat Oct 15, 7:42 AM ET
Panya and Jean are doing their best to help remove the debris at Audubon Zoo, mostly by eating it. Oak leaves and bark are a rare treat for the two Asian elephants, and Hurricane Katrina left them with a smorgasbord.
Though it escaped major flooding, the zoo is closed to the public for the time being. The animals are fine, but the zoo isn't in any shape to open. In the Jaguar Jungle exhibit, the giant bamboo stalks that once shaded a winding stone path have been blown sideways by Katrina's winds. Piles of debris still dot the landscape.
Most of the zoo's residents and a dozen or so key staff members stayed put for Katrina. The caretakers hunkered down in the reptile house, a building designed to withstand a hurricane and serve as a shelter. Food for animals and humans alike had been stockpiled.
"We have been planning for this for years," zoo spokeswoman Sarah Burnette said, adding that Audubon had picked up survival tips from the Miami zoo after Hurricane Andrew.
Elephants manager Ellen Frosch was among those who rode out the storm. Though it was windy and rainy, she said she wasn't worried after locking the elephants in their barn and heading to the reptile house. They were soon back to their routine, roaming the zoo in the early hours with their keepers for exercise.
Once the storm blew past, zoos from around the country sent in supplies and are now working on a fundraising campaign for Audubon. As a nonprofit, the zoo relies on the income generated by visitors to feed the animals; the assistance provided was crucial, Burnette said. Panya and Jean alone eat 150 pounds of food per day.
There are a few less residents to feed; two otters and a raccoon did not survive, and the sea lions were relocated to zoos in Texas because they require such specialized conditions.
Zoo officials will meet next week to discuss when and how to re-open, but that likely won't be before Thanksgiving. That news is likely to disappoint the elephants and orangutans, who are used to interacting with crowds every day.
"I think they miss the people," primates keeper Cyndi Ratliff said as she watched orangutans Feliz, Berani and Blaze swing upside down. Feliz held out her leathery hand, her way of asking for treats.
The two pachyderms, normally used to welcoming hordes of pint-sized visitors and putting on a daily show, entertained National Guardsmen who had camped out in the zoo's front yard. Frosch discovered them hoisting logs and dropping them again and again as the soldiers cheered them on.
___
On the Net:
http://www.auduboninstitute.org
Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions or Comments
Privacy Policy -Terms of Service - Copyright/IP Policy - Ad Feedback
posted by Joe Paris at Saturday, October 22, 2005
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