Jan Wesner Childs
A 58-year-old chimpanzee named Violet is among a dozen animals who died amid freezing weather and power outages this week at a Texas wildlife sanctuary.
“Every animal matters to us and we are devastated,” Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals, which has managed the Primarily Primates sanctuary since 2007, said in a news release.
Monkeys and lemurs also died.
Power went out at the 78-acre nonprofit sanctuary in San Antonio at about 6 a.m. Monday, the Houston Chronicle reported. Staff tried using generators, space heaters, blankets and anything else they could think of to keep the 400 primates, and tropical birds, that call the sanctuary home warm.
As the sun set and temperatures dropped, they knew lifesaving measures were in order. Staff and volunteers began loading up animals and taking them to the San Antonio Zoo.
“I’ve never faced a decision like this,” Brooke Chavez, executive director of the sanctuary, told the Chronicle. “Having to decide who we can save, depending on the predictability of which animals we can catch.”
As they worked, they discovered some animals had already perished. Violet, numerous monkeys, lemurs and birds were dead.
“I never, ever thought my office would turn into a morgue, but it has,” Chavez said.
In a news release, the sanctuary said it's believed Violet died of a stroke.
Staff and volunteers, meanwhile, continue to stay with the animals who remain at the sanctuary. It houses mostly primates who were rescued from research and entertainment industries, according to the news release.
The facility was among the 2.6 million homes, businesses and other facilities still without power in Texas Wednesday afternoon.
Heaters and generators were being used to keep the animals warm and staff was checking on them every 20 minutes around the clock.
“We know this unprecedented Arctic blast is taking a toll on humans, which is why we are so grateful to the San Antonio Zoo staff for helping us transport and care for animals as well as the more than 60 volunteers who have organized meetups and driven their 4x4s in treacherous conditions to bring us supplies," Feral said. "Their kindness brings some comfort during this nightmare. They are heroes, and so are our staff members.”
The animals died as Winter Storm Uri brought frigid temperatures, snow and ice across much of the south, followed by Winter Storm Viola. The weather is blamed for at least 30 human deaths in several states this week, including Texas.
Violet, a chimpanzee who lived at the Primarily Primates sanctuary in Leon Springs, Texas, was one of several animals who died among power outages and freezing weather at the facility this week.The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
No comments:
Post a Comment