Hurricane Harvey

Zooplantman · 25 Aug 2017

The approaching Hurricane will very likely be a rough ride for the zoo.
The zoo has already closed for preparations
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Hurricane Harvey on track to slam Houston refineries, could cause "major gap" in gasoline - CBS News

Zooplantman · 25 Aug 2017

Moody Gardens will be facing another serious hurricane
Hurricane Harvey Will Be Strongest Texas Coastal Bend Landfall in At Least 47 Years; Devastating Rainfall Flood Threat

Coelacanth18 · 25 Aug 2017

Looks like putting all of our oil refineries in one hurricane-prone basket was, in fact, not our most shining accomplishment.

Hopefully they evacuate enough people in time and there are minimal casualties...

Zooplantman · 25 Aug 2017

Landfall will be closest to Corpus Christ.
The aquarium, which closed yesterday to prepar, is designed for sea surge and wind.

TheMightyOrca · 26 Aug 2017

I hope they'll all be okay, the flooding is expected to be bad.

Zooplantman · 27 Aug 2017

As of Sunday, Texas State Aquarium reporting all safe and no ral damage.
Houston Zoo reporting minor flooding only
Moody Gardens reports all is well

jayjds2 · 28 Aug 2017

The Aquarium at Rockport Harbor did not fare well: it was wrecked. Most fish were transferred to the Texas State Aquarium:

Aquarium at Rockport Harbor

Chlidonias · 29 Aug 2017

jayjds2 said: ↑

The Aquarium at Rockport Harbor did not fare well: it was wrecked. Most fish were transferred to the Texas State Aquarium:

Aquarium at Rockport Harbor
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I'm not sure that's accurate. Skimming down the comments it says that a fish named Marley had been transferred to Texas State Aquarium, but otherwise there is a repeated "we released several of our fish on thursday before the Operations Staff evacuated". And at one point they say "when our Operations staff is able to get back to Rockport we will update on our other specimens".

It sounds like a lot of the animals were still there unfortunately.

jayjds2 · 29 Aug 2017

Chlidonias said: ↑

I'm not sure that's accurate. Skimming down the comments it says that a fish named Marley had been transferred to Texas State Aquarium, but otherwise there is a repeated "we released several of our fish on thursday before the Operations Staff evacuated". And at one point they say "when our Operations staff is able to get back to Rockport we will update on our other specimens".

It sounds like a lot of the animals were still there unfortunately.
Click to expand...

I heard that all of the animals were safe from a zookeeper group I am in, but regardless, the outcome is devastating. I believe "Marley" is a honeycomb moray eel.

Chlidonias · 29 Aug 2017

jayjds2 said: ↑

I heard that all of the animals were safe from a zookeeper group I am in, but regardless, the outcome is devastating. I believe "Marley" is a honeycomb moray eel.
Click to expand...

some googling suggests that only Marley was transferred, while some other fish were released and others remained on site. But there's not much news out yet obviously.

Zooplantman · 29 Aug 2017

A Message From Houston Zoo CEO, Lee Ehmke
Tuesday, Aug. 29

We continue to hear devastating news about our beloved city, and our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this terrible event. I am grateful to report that our Zoo is still an island of relative normalcy in an ocean of crisis, with my deepest gratitude going to my fellow ride-out crew members. These incredible individuals have been working tirelessly for our animals and facilities.

I also want to share some information about how our fellow AZA-accredited Texas zoos are pitching in. This morning, the San Antonio Zoo and SeaWorld San Antonio flew a helicopter full of supplies and assistance into Houston to help the Downtown Aquarium, which has suffered major flood damage. This group has also begun arranging to help the Texas Zoo in Victoria. I have been receiving messages of concern and support from all over the world, and wanted you to know that we have an army of people who are pulling for us. We have re-activated some of our animal webcams to provide reassurance to our many supporters, stakeholders and fans that we are doing okay.

We will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, August 30, and have started discussions on when we might re-open, keeping in mind the ability for our team members and guests to safely travel to the Zoo. As soon as those decisions have been made, we will certainly let you know. Until then, stay safe!

– Lee

Zooplantman · 30 Aug 2017

You can check on Houston Zoo animals yourself
Animal Webcams - HOUSTON ZOO

Arizona Docent · 6 Sep 2017

Thankfully the zoos seemed to fare ok, but many residents of Houston and other areas are in bad shape.

Now we have to worry about the zoos and people of Florida. Hurricane Irma is fast approaching and some headlines I just saw are predicting it could be the most catastrophic in US history.

Zooplantman · 6 Sep 2017

Arizona Docent said: ↑

Thankfully the zoos seemed to fare ok, but many residents of Houston and other areas are in bad shape.

Now we have to worry about the zoos and people of Florida. Hurricane Irma is fast approaching and some headlines I just saw are predicting it could be the most catastrophic in US history.
Click to expand...

A correction: the MAJOR zoos did ok

The Aquarium at Rockport Harbor - Home
Texas Zoo to get relief from Texas zoos - Victoria Advocate
https://www.bizjournals.com/houston...-downtown-aquarium-calls-san-antonio-zoo.html

zooboy28 · 14 Sep 2017

Story on the major impacts to one animal collection in Texas following Hurricane Harvey that hasn't been mentioned yet - Gator Country. This reptile park suffered severe damage, with a number of alligators thought to have escaped, although none of the other reptiles did.

Story here (with many photos): Gators in the storm: After Hurrican Harvey, reptile rescuer wonders how to rebuild

Gators in the storm: After Hurricane Harvey, reptile rescuer wonders how to rebuild
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CHARLES SCUDDER

Surrounded by hundreds of alligators, Gary Saurage waded through murky floodwaters trying to save his 6-hectare Texas reptile sanctuary.

Hurricane Harvey had brought record rains, and the water was already above the fence of one enclosure, offering easy escape for smaller alligators. The water had flooded Saurage's home and come within a few inches of destroying the visitors centre where he'd secured the dangerous crocodiles and venomous snakes.

Outside, Saurage had already lost tractors and a boat to the floodwaters. He was in danger of losing his livelihood, the rescue operation he calls Gator Country. He tried rounding up as many reptiles as he could before the storm, and now was trying to protect the rest.

In chest-high water, he wanted the gators to swim toward him.

'IN THREE DAYS, GONE'

Saurage, 48, is the founder of Gator Country, a sanctuary and rescue facility for alligators and other reptiles. You can see its massive tin-gator figure on the north side of the interstate as you drive into Beaumont. He's spent 12 years building the place into a tourist spot and rescue centre, which he co-owns with Arlie Hammonds.

Saurage is one of about 70 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department permit holders who are called to capture nuisance alligators that show up in pools, ponds and porches. He gives those animals a home at Gator Country, and also rehabilitates reptiles injured by cars or other alligators.

He's had both thumbs reattached after alligator mishaps. He's had his Achilles tendon torn from a alligator's tail. He's been on Animal Planet. Each year, Saurage says, 40,000 tourists visit Gator Country.

"I built it up really big," he said recently. "In three days, gone."

Harvey damaged fences to many of the alligator pens. He estimates that about 30 of the alligators escaped in the storm. A high-end tractor-trailer was destroyed by Big Tex - the largest alligator ever captured alive in Texas, according to the Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge, where he was caught.

The floods destroyed his own prefabricated home on the property. It sits a few feet above the ground, but he still had 5 inches of water inside. He knows it is totalled, and he will have to purchase a new double-wide.

Insurance will help a little, he said, but it may not be enough. The worst-hit parts of the facility were the uninsured gator ponds behind the visitors centre, and Saurage estimates US$200,000 (NZ$273,972) in damage. "I don't stop and think how much work I've put into this place, till now," he said. "I stop and think, 'Do I have it in me to do that again?' Phew. That's a good question."

BUILDING GATOR COUNTRY

After getting out of the Air Force in 1990, Saurage moved to southeast Texas from Louisiana and began hunting alligators. Instead of killing them, he began catching gators and educating people about how to live alongside the creatures.

The Gator Country complex had once been an alligator farm but was abandoned in 1998 with 1100 gators still on-site. When Saurage came to inspect the property in 2005, only two were left: Big Al and Allie.

He bought the place and began picking up nuisance alligators in pools and ponds. In 2011, he starred on the CMT show Gator 911. In 2016, he caught Big Tex at 13 feet, 8 { inches.

Saurage and his staff host birthday parties and field trips at Gator Country, and produce shows that take gators on the road. The shows are entertaining, but they also teach both kids and adults how to interact with alligators in the wild.

PREPARING FOR THE STORM

Saurage looked at the forecasts in the last weeks of August and began to prepare. Gator Country had been through Hurricanes Ike and Rita, so Saurage knew the drill.

First, he put the crocodiles into the visitors centre. One two-metre one named Freddy was placed in the men's bathroom with black duct tape around its snout. Those reptiles are not native to Texas and are much more aggressive than their North American cousins, so keeping them secure was a paramount concern.

Next, he secured the venomous snakes - rattlers, water moccasins and more - in their cages in the Texas snake room.

Then, his team wrestled the two big boys, Big Tex and Big Al, into separate tractor-trailers and hauled them to a warehouse in Beaumont at higher ground. Saurage recalls the water beginning to rise. It didn't stop raining for days.

"Hurricanes I'm used to are big winds, and it goes for 12 hours, then it goes away," he said. Harvey was different. "In your mind, you're going, 'Surely this is it. Surely this is it.' But it just kept coming."

RETURNING TO A WAY OF LIFE

Throughout the storm, Saurage worked to salvage what he could. He waded through the rising floodwaters to move trucks to high ground and check on the animals throughout the facility.

When the fences on some of the alligator pens were damaged, Saurage and his team worked to round up what alligators they could, stowing them in a pool with higher fences.

Days later, as the floodwaters began to recede, Saurage went to inspect the damage. His gift shop was destroyed. Sturdy boardwalks had moved clear across the complex, and park benches floated away into a ditch near Interstate 10.

The visitors centre was spared. The larger alligators, crocodiles and venomous snakes - over 400 animals in all, Saurage says - were secure.

After things dried out a bit more, he brought Big Tex and Big Al back to the complex. A team of a dozen people helped tug the massive gators out of their trailers and into their respective ponds.

Saurage and his wife went out to dinner a few nights ago, after weeks of tiring work and late nights. He said they cried on the way back, wondering what to do. But he woke up the next morning ready to rebuild.

Saurage spent that morning in meetings at the bank. He has only five years left before the place is paid off. Now he's wondering what to do with the place. The last few years have been good, so he has some breathing room, but this hurricane could change things. Does he extend the loan? Work on borrowed cash flow?

He said his children, who are now teens, are pressuring him to keep the doors open. They grew up in Gator Country, working and living on the property. They've begun to take some ownership in the place, and want to see it continue.

He thinks he'll manage to get by, at least until they reopen. The goal is to be receiving guests by early next year. He's also been in talks with Animal Planet about a recovery show.

Soon, he said, he expects to do a head count of the alligators by lamplight. It's easier to see their eyes that way. Tuesday night, they checked out the still-flooded ditches near Interstate 10 and caught three alligators.

In an area with 400,000 wild alligators, the 30 that escaped are not worth losing sleep over. Officials don't expect an small rise in the number of calls as Harvey's floodwaters recede, either.

"As of now, there hasn't been an explosion of alligators as was hyped by the media," said Jonathan Warner, alligator program leader with TPWD. "As the water goes down, they're going to go back to their normal living areas."

The rebuild will bring updates to Gator Country, Saurage said, so that's a silver lining. New bathrooms are in the works to accommodate the big field trip groups. He might even bring in some new animals or attractions.

"It's our way of life," he said. "This didn't happen because I'm lazy."
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GARY SAURAGE: The bed that Big Tex, the largest captured alligator in America, rested on in a trailor during the flooding of Hurricane Harvey.

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