Miami zoo relocates smaller animals ahead of Hurricane Irma assault

The Miami zoo is taking no chances with Peanut, a critically endangered white-rumped vulture, or with its more common pink flamingos, for that matter.

With Hurricane Irma a day away from making landfall in Florida, the zoological park evacuated Peanut from his enclosure and placed him in a fortified concrete bunker along with other animals early on Saturday.

READ MORE: Hurricane Irma: Some Canadians hunkered down as others hit the road

Zookeepers scrambled to secure animals and finish testing emergency equipment as weather conditions deteriorated ahead of Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century.

“We are very concerned about the generators working because we have life system supports for pumping for the aquarium and things like that,” said Zoo Miami Communications Director Ron Magill. “If they shut down, the oxygen doesn’t get in the water, and animals will die.”

Irma is expected to make landfall somewhere west of Miami on Sunday as a major hurricane, bringing winds in excess of 100 miles per hour (160 kph) and a storm surge of up to 15 feet (4.6 meters).

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WATCH: Evacuation centres reaching capacity as people flee potential danger zones in Miami from Hurricane Irma

1:12 Evacuation centres reaching capacity as people flee potential danger zones in Miami from Hurricane Irma

The threat of widespread damage and evacuation orders for more than 6 million Floridians has dredged up memories of Hurricane Andrew, which decimated the zoo in 1992.

Large animals such as lions, elephants and apes have not been evacuated, since their enclosures were fortified after Andrew. But the zoo has relocated smaller, more fragile animals, such as the pink flamingos, to concrete bunkers.

READ MORE: ‘The storm’s here,’ Florida governor says Hurricane Irma assault on state has begun

Moving wild animals, however, poses its own dangers.

“These animals go through a tremendous amount of stress when you move them away from a familiar area, and that stress could be very, very dangerous to them,” Magill said.

WATCH: 450 inmates evacuated from prisons in path of Hurricane Irma

1:10 450 inmates evacuated from prisons in path of Hurricane Irma

But the risk of moving some animals is necessary to avoid a repeat of Andrew, when the flamingos were found huddled in a bathroom, he added.

“Please, God, don’t let this be another Andrew,” Magill said. “For us, that was the storm of a lifetime, not twice in my lifetime, please.”