JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season is officially underway. Hurricane Matthew hit Northeast Florida last year, and in case there’s a repeat, local and state agencies want to be as prepared as possible. So does the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.
We sloshed our way through the terrain and took a behind-the-scenes tour Tuesday. The goal? Find out what happens if “the big one” strikes the area.
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“Right now, we’re starting to think about all the things we need to do so we’re in the best shape possible,” Dan Maloney, deputy director of animal care and conservation, said.
When Hurricane Matthew hit, 22 staff members stayed behind. It was a Category 4 storm heading straight for the area, but thankfully it made a slight turn. With more than 2,000 animals at the zoo, moving them prior to a hurricane would be no easy feat.
Maloney knows that firsthand. He was in charge of the team at Audubon Zoo in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
“I learned a whole lot and we put a lot of that into play here, just in terms of our relationship with JFRD (Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department), JSO (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office) and the EOC (Emergency Operations Center).”
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Electric outlets and tiger beds have been built higher up. The compressors that would keep animals' food cold are higher up too.
The biggest concern is the The Trout River, which feeds in from the St. Johns River, which almost always sees storm surge. Regardless, Maloney said, they will be ready for the next big storm.
“We have areas to hunker and we’ll ride it out if we need to,” he said.