Hurricanes and other weather disasters are rough on everyone. They pose a special challenge to zoos and aquariums. Power outages can knock out life support systems, imperiling aquatic species. Animals can panic and injure themselves. Probably the biggest concern, however, is escape. Between high winds and falling trees, fences and windows can be broken, leaving animals free to wander out. One such incident happened at the Audubon Zoo this past week, when an Asian deer called a barasingha escaped during the storm. Zoo staff had to wait for the storm to die down before they were able to successfully recapture the deer, but they were able to bring it back safely.
Swamp deer breaches exhibit at Audubon Zoo due to Hurricane Ida
Now, what did NOT happen this week was a mass escape of animals (including gorillas... which they don't even have) at the Turtle Back Zoo in New Jersey. It seems to happen whenever there is an emergency that people feel the need to make up a little extra drama and add a zoo escape. The same thing happened last summer during the protests and riots that followed the death of George Floyd - many zoos were subject to rumors that anarchists and rioters had unleashed zoo animals on the public. None of these were true.
Rumors like these might seem funny, but they can hamper emergency response during a hurricane as police and firefighters are forced to check on them. They can also endanger zoo staff by forcing them to (sometimes repeatedly) go out into dangerous conditions and check animals, which sometimes involves rousing already stressed animals from shelters.
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