Flamingos hunker down in toilets of St. Petersburg botanical garden

Flamingos hunker down inside bathroom of Florida botanical garden as Hurricane Ian wreaks historic havoc outside in scene reminiscent of Hurricane Floyd in 1999 — while storks, goats, dogs and boars are taken to safety across the state

• Sunken Gardens, the 4-acre historic botanical gardens, located in St. Petersburg posted an image informing all those concerned that the animals were not only safe but taking the category 4 storm in stride 
•  ‘The flamingos are having quite the hurricane party; eating, drinking, and dancing while the Brazilian red-footed tortoises love to snuggle on their way to larger indoor accommodations,’ the post reads, in part
• The photo shows the pack of flamingos standing in front of the bathroom stalls appearing unfazed by the devastation happening outdoors at Hurricane Ian pounds Florida’s west coast 
•  The flamingos weren’t the only creatures being monitored at Sunken Meadows – the tortoises and other exotic birds – also sought refuge and were safe
• During the unforgiving storm, many of the animals, goats, dogs, donkeys and boars were transported safely across the state, as well as reptiles and exotic birds 

As monster storm Hurricane Ian raged across Florida causing catastrophic damages a flock of flamingos at a botanical gardens in St. Petersburg sought refuge in the restroom during the eye of the storm – a scene reminiscent of the iconic weather event of 1999: Hurricane Floyd.

During Hurricane Floyd dozens of flamingos hunkered down in a bathroom at the Miami-Metro Zoo on September 16, 1999. The category 4 storm was packing winds of up to 155mph and initially was expected to pass Miami. 

Nearly 21 years later, a different group of flamingos were pictured in a different restroom at a different wildlife center in Florida altogether, but the photo is nearly the same.

Sunken Gardens, the four-acre historical botanical gardens located in St. Petersburg, posted an image of the flamingos standing in front of the bathroom stalls appearing unfazed by the devastation happening outdoors as Hurricane Ian pounded Florida’s west coast.

‘The flamingos are having quite the hurricane party; eating, drinking, and dancing while the Brazilian red-footed tortoises love to snuggle on their way to larger indoor accommodations,’ the post reads, in part. 

The photo shows the pack of flamingos standing in front of the bathroom stalls at Sunken Gardens appearing unfazed by the devastation happening outdoors. The post was sent out informing all those concerned about the animals 

Flamingos take refuge in a bathroom at Miami-Metro Zoo during Hurricane Floyd. The category 4 storm hit September 14, 1999 with dangerous tropical-storm force winds. Floyd, which was expected to miss Miami, was a massive storm packing 155 mph winds

A staff person at Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg, Florida smiles as she is seen carrying one of the flamingos to a safe place

The tortoises were being collected and cared for by Sunken Meadows staffers before Hurricane Ian hit landfall 

A dog rescued by an officer from the Orange County Sheriff’s office during Hurricane Ian

The flamingos weren’t the only creatures being monitored at St. Petersburg’s oldest living zoo – the tortoises and other exotic birds – also sought refuge and were safe.

Many staff members at the area zoo’s went to social media to share how they were caring for the animals during the storm. Some making TikTok videos, while others posted on Facebook and Twitter. 

At the St. Augustine Alligator Farm documented how they secured their animals safely for the hurricane.

One of the staffers shows some of their hurricane safe building suc as their Kimono Dragon Building,  and how they are moving animals into secure locations giving them plenty of food, water, and enrichments to see them through the storm. 

In one TikTok video titled: ‘Hurricane Ian Zoo Prep: Stork in a Bathroom!’ A male worker is seen holding the beak of the stork as he places them down on the tiled bathroom floor.

In another video, a female staff person is shown holding one of the large cranes, saying, ‘Yay we made it. Thank you. Thank you.’ 

As the person taking the video narrates.  ‘So what do you think when you walk into a bathroom and see this. Here you go, water, comfortable perch, plenty of food. This will be where our cranes are going to survive for the storm this year.’

Meanwhile at the Animal Farm at the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office located in the Florida Keys posted images of some of the animals being wrangled to an area that will protect them from the gale force winds, flooding and  

Images include a massive black-colored boar sitting in a crate. A donkey being escorted by personnel, and ab oversized tortoise sitting in a plastic container ready for transport. nd  ‘good-natured humans’ as they described .

‘The animals at the Monroe County Sheriff Animal Farm braved Hurricane Ian with the help of some good-natured humans!’ the post read. ‘Thank you to all the MCSO staff who jumped in to make sure all the critters were safe!.’ 

A large crane looks ‘surprised’ as they were placed in the bathroom at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm to ride out the storm 

‘The animals at the Monroe County Sheriff Animal Farm braved Hurricane Ian with the help of some good-natured humans! Thank you to all the MCSO staff who jumped in to make sure all the critters were safe!,’ officials wrote in a Facebook post 

A donkey is being shuttled into a large holding area at Animal Farm at Monroe County Sheriff’s Office joining other donkeys

A staff person is seen transporting many of the animals secured in crates at the Monroe County Sheriff Animal Farm located in the Florida Key’s

By late Thursday morning, Hurricane Ian weakened to a tropical storm leaving much of central Florida decimated as it headed into the Atlantic Ocean. When the storm hit on Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency.

President Biden said at a press conference on Thursday at Federal Emergency Management Agency saying, ‘this could be the deadliest storm in Florida history,’ ABC News reported. 

He continued: ‘The numbers we have are still unclear, but we’re hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life,’ he said.

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