![]() The zoo officially opened on September 3, 1971, and currently averages over 424,000 visitors annually. Volunteers gathered up the sea turtles and took them to the South Padre Island Convention Cenre. Gladys Porter Zoo is a zoological and botanical park located in Brownsville, Texas. The green sea turtles love the shallow, warm waters of Laguna Madre and the seagrass beds, but the storm left thousands stunned. Several members were assisting cold-stunned sea turtles down the road at South Padre Island. The staff also wasn't just assisting animals at the zoo. We don't know how to drive on icy roads or in snow," said Garza Galvan. Director of marketing Cynthia Garza Galvan said only the animal care staff were required to come to work and the rest of the staff worked remotely. Like the zoo, they were dealing with the blackout, lack of heat, and some didn't water. The storm did more than affect the animals, employees were also hit hard by the storm. "They know exactly what to do with a blanket." "There were a lot of caped crusaders running around," she said. Adams said dozens upon dozens of blankets were given to the apes and they wrapped themselves up. The Great Apes - gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans - don't like the cold and, just like people, they like to bundle up. Not all of the animals are in danger because of the weather, but other precautions needed to be made to keep them warm. It looks like a parking lot inside of there," Adams said. Adams said approximately 60 tortoises are now in the herpetarium, and they will stay there until the temperatures stabilize. Dozens of tortoises live in outside habitats and all of them were moved into the reptile house. One of the largest animal moves at the zoo involved its tortoise population. Gladys Porter Staff move animals from original habitat to a warm building/Courtesy Gladys Porter Zoo When the power would come on, the animals would be brought to their original habitats to eat, but when the power went off, they would again be packed up and taken to the clinic, where they would stay overnight. Animal care staff at Gladys Porter wrapped the mammals up in blankets, put them in crates, and hauled them over to the animal health clinic. The scaly anteaters are originally from Africa and twenty-degree temperatures are not something they can handle. The power outage meant animals that aren't cold tolerant needed to be moved right away.įirst up was the five pangolins. The zoo has three generators: one operates the aquarium along with the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) for the herpetarium, one for the animal health facility where surgeries take place, and onre at the commissary which houses up to 2,000 lbs. We never faced anything like this before." said Colette Adams, deputy director of the zoo. The zoo will not replace the touch zone stingrays until they know the cause of deaths of the stingrays, officials added."There was enormous panic initially. Zoo officials said there are a number of possibilities that could have caused the deaths of the stingrays. ADMISSION Adults: 15.50 Children (2-13) 9.50 Children under 2 free Seniors (over 65): 12. “We’re sending water samples to laboratories to look for some possible containment that’s beyond our ability to test for.” With 28 acres of lush tropical plants and some 1,600 animals, the Gladys Porter Zoo is known for its successes in breeding endangered species of wildlife. Nothing out of the ordinary was reported. The stingrays were fed Sunday afternoon and checked on throughout the night by a watchman and a monitoring system that alerts staff of anything unusual in any of the tanks, Burchfield said. PREVIOUS STORY: Death of five stingrays at Gladys Porter Zoo under investigation The zoo continues to investigate the death of five stingrays that were found dead Monday at the zoo’s touch exhibit that allows visitors to touch the stingrays. ![]() An electrical failure is not believed to be a factor in the death of five stingrays, according to Gladys Porter Zoo Executive Director Patrick Burchfield. ![]()
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