nabeepchen

One of the things that I was most concerned about was the zoo in New Orleans. The Audubon Zoo is It is one of our nation’s premiere zoos, and the site of the Audubon Nature Institute’s Center for Research of Endangered Species. Two rare white tigers live at the Audobon Zoo, and I feared for their safety, along with all of the other critters who call it home.

Fortunately, the zoo is built on the highest ground in New Orleans, and survived relatively unscathed. They were very well prepared for a disaster (unfortunately that the rest of the city wasn’t) and had enough food, supplies and generators–as well as fortifications–to keep the animals safe and healthy. Loss of animal life was very minimal. There is enough fuel to keep generators running for quite some time and the zoo was so well prepared that emergency workers and police were actually coming to the zoo to get their vehicles fueled.

The Aquarium of the Americas, one of the world’s best, was not so lucky. While it did survive the initial blast from Katrina, its generators did give out during the subsequent mess which followed. Nearly all of their fish died, but on a bright note, they were able to ship out their penguins and some of the other mammals to other aquariums. I believe that their white alligator and sea otters are going to be staying at the zoo for the time being. The aquarium will probably not reopen for at least a year.

These little babies also survived. Cute, aren’t they. In case you’re wondering if you can take one home, the answer is no. These sweeties are endangered African wildcat kitties, and are a momentous breakthrough in helping to save endangered species.

This is from a press release issued by the zoo, just 10 days before K-day.

August 19, 2005 New Orleans, La. Audubon Nature Institute of New Orleans has pioneered another scientific breakthrough in the effort to save endangered species.

Two litters of kittens produced by natural breeding of cloned African wildcats have been born at Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species. The first five kittens were born on July 26, 2005 to the African wildcat Madge, who is a clone of the wildcat Nancy. The second litter, consisting of three kittens, was born on August 2 to the African wildcat Caty, also a clone of the wildcat Nancy. The father of both litters is Ditteaux, a clone of the African wildcat Jazz. Jazz made headlines when he was born as the result of transfer of cryopreserved (”frozen”) embryos to a domestic cat.

The regular website of the zoo is currently down, and has been replaced with one devoted exclusively to updates about recovery efforts, as well as information about making a donation.

Rita is now a category 2 storm and is having fun in the Keys. It doesn’t look like it’s a direct hit on Key West though, as feared. However, the story does get better.

Rita may hit Texas, which means that thousands of the Katrina evacuees will have to be re-evacuated to higher ground. In other words, if Houston, still home to a large number of people hunkered down in the Astrodome, is in the path of Rita, they will have to move. The Astrodome has a glass top and is not safe as a hiding spot during a strong hurricane.

And ironically, this month is the 105 anniversary of the devastating storm with wiped out three-quarters of Galveston and killed between 8-12,000 people. Rita could make a direct hit on the city by Sat. Stay tuned.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I still haven’t seen anything about the nursing shortage and how it ties in with these hurricanes. For example, all three hospitals and all nursing homes have been evacuated in the Florida Keys. Where did the patients go? Are there nurses to care for them? Where did these extra nurses come from, because I doubt that the full staff in these facilities left with their patients.

So, what is the story with nurses these days?

This however, is not the lovely Rita of the Beatles song. Rita is a category 1 hurricane which has brushed Key West and the southern Florida coast (Florida has been hit by an astounding 7 hurricanes in the past 14 months), and is predicted to head into the Gulf. Just what they need, right? While she is projected to make landfall in Texas, Louisiana may also feel some of the effects.

But hurricanes are a fact of life in this region, global warming or not. It just seems that the intensity of these storms is growing–Rita is projected to reach category 3 status before she strikes land, although no one is ruling out that she could progress into a more powerful storm. The waters in the Gulf are warm and inviting this time of year, just right for creating a hurricane.