The storm caused pens to buckle and damage to the birthing center.
Brent Lubbock of the park said there were animal losses in the birthing center and the park.
Snowfall at the park was estimated at a foot and when staff came in Sunday they found the heavy snow had caused damage throughout the park, which is located in Scotland Neck.
The park will be closed throughout the week so staff can assess damages and do an inventory of the 2,500 birds at the center, Lubbock said.
Bird handlers from Disney, zoos in New York and the North Carolina Zoo are helping with the rebuilding and taking care of the animals, Lubbock said this morning.
A few birds were injured by the collapsing pens and some were buried under the snow.
Donations to replace netting, hog ringers and wires have been made and monetary donations as well as physical labor are needed. Anyone who wants to donate their time should call the park at 252-826-3186 and tell staff what their expertise is, whether it is carpentry or clearing.
The snow storm caused the most damage of any natural occurrence at the park. “We’ve been through hurricanes, tornadoes and oil spills, but this snow was the worst,” Lubbock said.
The park will be closed until the end of the week while damage can be assessed and repairs started. The bulk of the damage occurred at Sylvan Heights Breeding Center and all staff from both facilities are working throughout the daylight hours to get the birds safely secured and start working on rebuilding the aviaries. “The damage at the Park was significant but surmountable and should be completed by the end of the week,” Lubbock said in an email correspondence. “Requests for help have gone out to various zoos that have qualified staff and former interns of the Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Avian Husbandry program have been called in to help.”
comments
Great coverage with video from WRAL can be found here: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/8844870/
If you cannot make a financial donation, there is another way to help. The park could use live Christmas trees as cover and sight barriers to help these relocated birds adjust to their new surroundings and provide shelter. So rather than leave your trees by the curbside this year, please consider donating them to Sylvan. To donate your tree, please call 252-826-3186.
RSS feed for comments to this post