Will Peratino and his partner, Lauren Stepp, did not want to leave their Pine Island property, despite authorities asking residents to evacuate due to road damage from Hurricane Ian, including a collapsed bridge. and prevents the delivery of food, gas and other vital supplies.
But the couple mightn’t leave their two lemurs and their 275 parrots, among them some of the rarest in the world.
So a rescue mission — dubbed “Operation Noah’s Ark” — was launched on Tuesday to capture, crate and ferry the birds off the island, as a condition of persuading Peratino and Stepp to leave the island. island.
“We would not abandon them. I would never leave them. Never,” Stepp said, as volunteers busied themselves putting the birds into cages at the Malama Manu Sanctuary. “If you can’t feed them or give them water, they will die. And I can’t live with that.”
“Malama” is the Hawaiian word for protect; “manu” means bird.
Since Hurricane Ian, the birds have relied on food donated by wildlife officials, but supplies of fruit, peanuts and other groceries will soon be hard to come by due to the collapsed bridge and gas shortages on the island.
Hurricane Ian hit southwest Florida a week ago with gusts of 150 mph (240 kph), leaving some roads impassable and islands inaccessible. Rain and storm surges caused flooding.
In the hours before the storm, the owners of the sanctuary brought the birds into their home to protect them from inclement weather.
“They don’t know what we’ve been through here. We had four feet (1.2 meters) of water in the house; we almost drowned,” Peratino said before succumbing to tears.
“Getting all the birds safe is a huge job,” Peratino said. “It is almost impossible to do it. So the help we have received has been very valuable.”
Many of the birds were rescued from homes that might no longer care for them. Some are used for breeding rare species.