Last Friday (20 Feb), Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia hit the coast of central Queensland, causing widespread damage around Rockhampton and nearby areas. Cooberrie Park Wildlife Sanctuary was hit hard by the cyclone (from Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cooberrie-Park-Wildlife-Sanctuary/268613123150351?fref=ts): The photos show a lot of downed trees, which have flattened fences and enclosures, and I suspect that "all animals are accounted for" suggests not all survived. Check out their Facebook page for photos of the damage, and information on how to donate to the Park's recovery. It looks like they have a lot of community support which is great!
I saw an ABC report that mentioned in passing that Cooberrie Park had been largely flattened but that all animals had survived. It's possible that that's a journalist's misunderstanding of 'all animals are accounted for' I guess.
I'm just not sure how everything could have survived given how much damage was done to some of the aviaries and other enclosures. I imagine they moved some animals out of their exhibits before it hit, so possibly the enclosures were empty when the cyclone hit.
The Facebook page refers to koalas having been in cyclone shelters, so perhaps they had enough room for the entire collection? Against that - Marcia went from being a tropical low to a category five in less than 24 hours. It would be a fairly remarkable feat for the zoo to have gotten all of their animals into safe housing in the time available to prepare.
there's a six minute audio link here from 3 March from a radio interview about the effects at the zoo: Cooberrie Park on the slow road to recovery - ABC Queensland - Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) At least some birds were lost when aviaries were destroyed but some have returned of their own accord (many others still missing). Deer and kangaroos disappeared into the bush but have mostly returned. The zoo is not open yet, as may be expected.
Hi everybody Thank you for interest in Cooberrie Park after the Catergory 5 Cyclone Marcia caused severe damage to the wildlife sanctuary. Amazingly we did not have any deaths from our collection, we did however lose a number of native parrots due to escaping through the damaged infrastructure! When you see the destruction and devastation at the park it is remarkable how lucky we are! We were without power for 9 days! Cyclone Marcia intensified rapidly and all cyclone protocols were put in place at the park 24 hours before the hit. The Koalas were all locked away in a purpose built cyclone shelter. This shelter is located on site and is a solid concrete facility. Our wombat was also locked away in her cyclone shelter as well! Both Cyclone shelters were put to the test and passed with flying colours, no damage whatsoever! The permanent Koala enclosures didn't get any damage so they were all able to return to their normal homes within 3 days of the storm. Unfortunately the wombats home was completely destroyed. Our Wombat is currently in a temporary enclosure while her brand new home is being constructed. The wombat enclosure is our number 1 priority at the moment and should be completed within a week. The damage bill from Cyclone Marcia is in excess of $200,000! List of enclosures that need rebuilding Wombat Emu Cassowary List of enclosures that need repairing Freshwater Crocodile Dingo Sugar Glider Rufous Bettong Free flight aviary / presentation area Reptile Pit We have a team of contractors working very long hours to ensure the park is up and running as soon as practical We are currently not able to open due to the amount of construction and machinery on site, however we envisage to reopen for Easter. For photos and constant updates visit the Cooberrie Park Facebook page. We will try and post updates on Zoochat when we have the chance. Once again thank you for your posts and let us know if you have any questions. Best Regards Cooberrie Park
Article on the re-building of the park: Cooberrie Park in fine form after Cyclone Marcia restoration | Rockhampton Morning Bulletin
