The Zoological Association of America (ZAA) has revealed how Zoological Disaster Response, Rescue, and Recovery (ZDR3) led the response to damaged zoo and aquarium facilities in Orlando, US, after Hurricane Ian swept across the state. 12 Florida zoos that were harmed by the hurricane received assistance from ZDR3, which offered needs assessments and advice before deploying regional and out-of-state resources to support the affected facilities.
ZDR3 executive director Julia Wagner (co-chair of the ZAA Safety & Security Committee) and ZDR3 president & treasurer Michael Fouraker (director of the ZAA- accredited Fort Worth Zoo and ZAA Board member) arrived first to inspect the damage and determine what resources were required.
On the ground, Wagner and Fouraker evaluated the damaged facilities that asked for help. Some required advice on how to handle their situation the best; others asked which authorities to contact regarding particular conditions. In one case, the pair checked on the welfare of a member of staff from a ZAA-accredited zoo in the area.
Before she arrived in Florida, Wagner also informed the ZDR3 network of facilities that responders may be required and over 40 facilities from different states offered to send teams.
Expert response teams
Due to impassable roads, long lines of utility trucks, and other responders, bringing responders into a hurricane-affected area can be challenging. One of the most skilled disaster response teams in the business, the San Antonio Zoo (SAZ) team, was sent out by ZDR3 initially. Chainsaw operators, electricians, and welders were among the seven-person team of facility staff members with key skills.
Erin McNally, (ZAA member, co-chair of the ZAA Safety & Security Committee and director of Crisis Response for Growing Resiliency for Aquarium and Zoo Employees (GRAZE)) is well known in the zoological sector for her assistance with critical incident stress management. She is also a superb logistics coordinator, who started working behind the scenes ever since Hurricane Ian formed.
Initially, she determined which supplies were needed in the impact zone and required for Iguanaland in Punta Gorda, the first response site. The ZAA-accredited ZooWorld Zoological Park provided produce to the SAZ crew to take with them, alongside the supplies that SAZ had already collected such as gas, water, and crickets. Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society, Lion Country Safari, Southland Safari, Cameron Park Zoological Society Dallas Zoo, Zoofari Parks, Monterey Zoo, and Hemker Park and Zoo all donated supplies too, as well as individual donors.
The SAZ crew spent over a week helping out at a range of affected locations. At Iguanaland, they took away a number of big felled trees that were preventing the power company’s ability to restore power and repaired electric lines that had been damaged by falling trees. In addition, they worked on other maintenance issues at the facility, so that zoo staff could concentrate on caring for the animals.
Wagner, McNally, and the SAZ crew then moved to the Lemur Conservation Foundation (LCF) in Myakka City, where they removed several more felled trees, including ones that had landed on the lemurs’ outdoor forest habitats. In just one day, they removed 46 trees. After the SAZ crew left, three team members from the Palm Beach Zoo arrived to assist Wagner and McNally to finish tree work on the site, so that the lemurs could safely enjoy their forest habitats.
Off-site support
In addition to the work on-site, remote response workers also performed vital activities. Susan Kleven, zoological director of the Frank Buck Zoo and a founding member of ZDR3, was busy tracking the crews’ movements and details about their work, and maintaining and organising notes for after-action reports.
David Kleven is the creator of AnimalCare Software (ACS) a daily recordkeeping solution and welfare management tool for animal care professionals and a ZDR3 partner. He uploaded details of ZDR3 Network facilities’ resources that could share, including types of crew, personnel with specialised training, vehicles, roll cages, and holding capacity for the intake of animals that require evacuation. This key info is only accessed and used by the ZDR3 core team.
Eric Trager, owner of Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo and another founding member of ZDR3, is also one of ZDR3’s most experienced disaster responders. He remained on standby for deployment to the affected area and is still on standby for potential recovery deployments.
ZDR3 project assistant, Melanie Messer, provides administrative and communications
support, including during deployments. She has also cooked for the teams on previous deployments and used this experience to send shopping lists, menus, and other information to speed up the ability to feed everyone efficiently and cheaply.
Finally, ZDR3 communications volunteer Mandy Matson kept followers on the ZDR3 Facebook and Instagram pages informed about the response.
ZAA will be hosting its annual conference in Litchfield Park, Arizona from 29 November to 2 December 2022. This year’s event is presented by Mazuri and hosted by World Wildlife Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park.
