How are animals being kept safe during Hurricane Milton?
Local zoos, aquariums, shelters, and rescues have mobilized to provide extra support that will keep animals safe during the storm.
All eyes are on Florida, with Hurricane Milton, barreling toward the coastline.
More than a million people have been forced to evacuate their homes in anticipation of Milton's Wednesday evening landfall.
Keep up-to-date with the latest Hurricane Milton developments by visiting The Weather Network's hurricane hub.
As residents flee the red-zoned areas to avoid the catastrophic effects of the storm, The Weather Network has received questions from concerned viewers about the welfare of animals in vulnerable communities.
Local zoos, aquariums, shelters, and rescues have mobilized to keep animals safe in the days ahead.
Here is what some organizations are doing.
How are rescues keeping animals safe during Hurricane Milton?
Several Florida-based rescues are relocating animals ahead of the storm.
"The logistics are quite difficult," Sharon Hawa, Senior Manager of Emergency Services at Best Friends Animal Society, told WCVB5.
"There are quite a number of organizations that need help. We’re talking about hundreds of animals. I don’t have an exact number, but it’s definitely in the hundreds."
One of these organizations is Florida Urgent Rescue (FUR).
In a recent press release, the non-profit says it is working with Pinellas County Animal Services to evacuate 26 dogs from a county shelter located near the coast.
"Working with Best Friends Animal Society, FUR transported these dogs to Marietta, GA, and Best Friends will move them to rescues in New York after the storm," the organization says in a statement.
Another charity involved is Wings of Rescue, which has relocated 65 homeless dogs and cats from the hurricane's path, flying them to a temporary shelter set up at Alaqua Animal Refuge.
Wings of Rescue says the effort was made possible through collaboration with several organizations, including the Humane Society of the United States.
Embedded content: https://twitter.com/HumaneSociety/status/1841915747452502095Meanwhile, The Animal Rescue League of Boston is preparing to take in at least ten dogs from Florida by the end of the week.
Animals flown to Alaqua Animal Refuge for temporary shelter. (Alaqua Animal Refuge/Facebook
Helping animals along the Yucatan Peninsula
Earlier in the week, Milton barreled across the Yucatan Peninsula, where the governments of Yucatan State and Quintana Roo, Mexico, prepared temporary shelters for people and their pets. Two shelters in Quintana Roo are using The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)-provided hurricane shelter kits, designed to keep families united with their pets.
The kits include animal-identifying supplie (collars, leashes, paperwork, etc.) as well as food, litter boxes, litter, and tick and flea medication. Paper plates are included for feeding bowls so families can preserve dishwashing water in the event water becomes scarce.
"At IFAW, we remain on the ground, responding to the needs of animals and people in the aftermath of Helene, while gearing up for Milton’s potential destruction," reads a statement on the IFAW website.
"We are participating in state-level planning calls to support temporary shelters in Georgia for evacuees from Florida. IFAW disaster responders remain in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene supporting co-located shelters and will remain to help with recovery efforts."
Florida Aquarium relocates penguins
With storm surge forecasts up to 3 metres in Tampa's downtown region, officials at the Florida Aquarium have moved nine African penguins from their first-floor habitat to higher ground, along with moon jellies, six snakes, three lizards, three turtles, two alligators, two toads, and a hermit crab.
An endangered pillar and elkhorn coral is being relocated to Georgia, West Palm Beach, and Miami.
A sea turtle that was impacted by Hurricane Helene has also been transported to the Aquarium, where it can take shelter.
A sea turtle that's still recovering from Hurricane Helene will be riding out Hurricane Milton in safety at The Florida Aquarium (The Florida Aquarium/supplied)
Tampa Zoo
The Tampa Zoo has also been busy keeping its animals safe.
Twelve flamingoes have been relocated, and birds are being moved to shelters that can withstand the wind, an official for the zoo told Wild 94.1.
