Practice makes perfect, and so it did for the emergency evacuation of Gainesville’s city zoo.
Susan Kleven, director of the Frank Buck Zoo, said the removal of the zoo’s 145 animals went flawlessly thanks to an evacuation drill just weeks before. She reported no deaths of any of the mammals, birds, reptiles or invertebrates.
“All of them did well,” Kleven said in an interview Tuesday afternoon. “We had evacuated probably three weeks ago.”
The zoo is located in Leonard Park, which adjoins the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. The river reached historic levels Monday morning as about 10 inches of rain fell on the area, prompting flooding throughout the city.
“We did a dry run,” Kleven said. “Everybody knew what to do and where the supplies were. And we knew that we had to get more crates and supplies for a future drill.”
Kleven said the drills are not routine but safety meetings take place monthly. At the last safety meeting zoo staff decided that with increased rainfall it would be beneficial to conduct a mock evacuation to see if the animals could be extradited efficiently.
“Quite literally, the fact that we had already evacuated, everybody knew exactly what would happen. But it was easier last time,” Kleven noted. “It was dry then and we only anticipated getting wet.”
Kleven said zoo staff were wading through chest-high water Monday morning to evacuate the zoo.
She said at about 6:30 a.m. zoo staff were driving into work and could not get to the zoo due to the blocking of California Street/FM 51.
“So that was the first problem,” she said.
The first shift staff got in around 7:15 to 7:30 a.m., she said. At that time the flood gage at the Elm Fork (before it bent over) read 24 feet.
“They quickly evacuated some animals, then the people had to evacuate themselves,” Kleven said.
She noted a levee, which was built following a devastating flood in 1981 which made national headlines, prevented the water from entering the zoo for more than two decades — until Monday.
“We didn’t know what to expect when water went over the levee,” Kleven said. “A groundskeeper stayed in the park. When he noticed waters no longer coming over the levee, he called and staff waded through water to get to animals. After about two hours we got out a majority of the animals.”
Kleven noted most of the exhibits have access to higher ground at the zoo.
A gooseneck trailer and a 16-passenger van used for Kleven’s husband’s “Critterman” children’s animal education business, served as the Ark.
A zoo staff member checking on remaining animals Monday afternoon said the evacuated critters were being held at a “classified location somewhere in north Texas.”
There is no set date for the return of the animals, Kleven said.
“We’re assessing the weather on a daily basis,” she said. “We don’t want to bring them back prematurely.”
The Frank Buck Zoo is closed until further notice. For official city announcements see local Cable Channel 3.
Reporter Andy Hogue may be contacted at andyhoguegdr@ntin.net
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