Moody Gardens shelters unique storm victims

By TJ Aulds
The Daily News

Published September 20, 2005

GALVESTON — Loaded up in the back of a U-Haul truck, it took 10 hours for the two sisters, a couple of elderly neighbors and their 3-year-old friend to get from New Orleans to Galveston.

A fellow storm victim also made the trek, and, thanks to a detour through Dallas, was on the road for nearly 18 hours.

Thousands of Louisiana residents are now housed in Galveston County after escaping the ravages of Hurricane Katrina. But for six storm victims, temporary housing isn’t found at a local hotel or a Red Cross shelter, but rather holding areas at Moody Gardens and the Houston Zoo.

Five sea lions from the Audubon Zoo of New Orleans and a giant green sea turtle from the New Orleans aquarium now call Texas home. Four of the evacuees are put up at Moody Gardens, as is Secret Holmes, the trainer for Sushi, 19, Lilli, 18, and Porter, 3, the trio of sea lions that moved into the Galveston attraction late last week. The elderly couple named Cinnamon, 30, and Katie, 24, are being housed at the Houston Zoo.

Meanwhile, in Moody Gardens’ quarantine building a 300-pound sea turtle named King Midas is holding court. He is spending his time munching on lettuce and doing what he does best — sleep.

“I’ve always known that (the zoo and aquarium community) was a closed knit bunch, but this has just been phenomenal,” said Holmes who oversaw the move of the sea lions from the New Orleans Zoo to Texas. “If you think about it too much, it makes you want to cry.”

Like other zoos and aquariums across the country, Moody Gardens opened its doors to the other victims of Katrina, the display animals that were in the New Orleans Zoo as well as the giant aquarium near downtown. While the zoo weathered the storm well, the aquarium was not as fortunate with hundreds of animals dying after the power was lost and backup generators ran out of fuel.

“Even before the storm (made landfall), we and others were communicating and offering to evacuate the animals,” said Jay Reynolds, the lead biologist for Moody Gardens.

Like many of the zoos and aquariums across the country, Moody Gardens belongs to the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, a network of biologists and zoo and aquarium operators.

Reynolds said the group’s Web site became a central communication point once the Audubon Society — which operates both the New Orleans Zoo and Aquarium — made the call for help.

A few days after the storm hit, it became obvious that the loss of power would mean a forced evacuation of the animals at the biggest risk.

The sea lions were loaded up in crates in the back of a U-Haul truck when an air-conditioned truck was unavailable. A Houston Zoo employee handled the chauffeur duties.

“We kept the back door open to keep the air flowing and just poured ice cold water on them to get them wet and keep them cool,” said Holmes.

King Midas was also loaded up in a truck and hauled to Dallas, where the Moody Crew went to pick him up. They loaded him in a padded crate and kept the water pouring over him to avoid having his shell dry out.

In addition to the animals, which according to Reynolds and Holmes are all doing fine, there has been a human factor.

“We had what we call our A Team that stayed (at the zoo) during the storm,” said Holmes. “They were very glad to see some fresh faces when we arrived.”

But the devastation was so great to New Orleans as a whole that there is still no clear picture as to when the zoo or aquarium will be able to open again.

“(The Audubon Society) has had to lay a lot of people off because we aren’t open and there are no guests coming in,” said Holmes. “I don’t know what will even happen to me. It’s a day to day thing.”

Moody Gardens has offered Holmes a job to help out should the Audubon folks have to eliminate her position. Either way, she won’t be far from “her kids.”

“The people here have been great, so phenomenal,” she said. “I’ve been learning how to feed the penguins, and my way around here to help out.

“Of course, the sea lions are here and we are trying to keep their training on schedule.”

What’s next for the special storm victims is uncertain said Reynolds. Although he said he wouldn’t be surprised if after the mandatory 30-day quarantine that the visitors from Louisiana will get a chance to be introduced to crowds in Galveston. Moody Gardens does not have a green sea turtle or sea lions, so their displaced animals from New Orleans are sure to draw some curious crowds.

Holmes said she would like to see her trio on display in Galveston, if even just for a few months. Still, the goal is to eventually return to New Orleans the sea lions, turtle and all.

“Who knows what the future holds, but slowly things are starting to get back to normal,” she said. “I think we will make it