N.O. zoo offers refuge

• By ALLEN M. JOHNSON JR.
• Advocate New Orleans bureau
• Published: Oct 21, 2008 - Page: 10A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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NEW ORLEANS — In the wake of Hurricane Ike, two poisonous snakes and 12 exotic ducks are among a menagerie displaced from Texas zoos and aquariums that now have temporary homes in New Orleans.

Among the more than two dozen animals to evacuate recently from flood-damaged Moody Gardens Zoo in Galveston, Texas, are a pair of venomous McGregor’s pit vipers, two South American tegu lizards and a dozen ducks native to Africa, South America and Southeast Asia, Audubon Institute spokeswoman Sarah Burnette said Monday.

“After quarantine, the ducks will be temporarily on exhibit in Audubon Zoo lagoons and other exhibit areas,” Burnette said.

The lengthy tegus lizards, which can grow up to 5 feet long, will be on view in the zoo’s Jaguar Jungle area. Because of limited space, however, the pit vipers will reside out of sight in the zoo’s Reptile Encounter area, Burnette said.

In addition, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas staffers are now caring for 11 large Southern stingrays they helped to rescue from large saltwater tanks at a Houston area restaurant.

The stingrays will be housed at the Aquarium Aquatics Center on the West Bank of the Mississippi River and will not be on exhibit, Audubon officials said.

Although winds from Ike seldom topped 110 miles per hour, storm surge pushed higher-than-expected waters — estimated at 13 to 18 feet — into the Galveston zoo.

Salt water from the Gulf of Mexico mixed with fuel oil from a nearby airport, killed about 4,150 freshwater fish in Moody Gardens’ Rainforest Pyramid exhibit. After the storm, about 870 animals were evacuated to zoos around the country.

Audubon Bird Curator Lee Schoen brought a truck filled with Galveston’s reptiles and ducks back to New Orleans, after helping a former colleague at the Galveston zoo recover animals set loose in Ike’s wake.

“He asked if I could help catch birds in the Rainforest so staff could repair the building,” Schoen said. “Since Moody Gardens had helped Audubon Zoo by holding our sea lions right after Hurricane Katrina, I was glad to return the favor.”

Schoen said he helped round up several ducks, a flock of flamingos and a sloth before heading home.

The vipers, lizards and ducks transported to New Orleans made the trip inside of kennels. “Like cat kennels,” Burnett said.

New Orleans’ zoo and aquarium facilities suffered no damage from hurricanes Gustav or Ike in September, she said.