CALGARY- As the Calgary Zoo grapples with $50 million damage caused by the June flood, its counterparts from around the country are stepping up to help.
Earlier this week, they announced that the South America was damaged beyond repair, meaning it will not reopen and 34 animals are being displaced.
A number of zoos have offered to help house the species long-term, and will begin collecting them as early as next week.
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The Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg is taking the prehensile-tailed porcupines and cotton-topped tamarins, while the Vancouver Zoo will house the Amazon parrots.
Safari Niagara in Ontario will take care of the gibbons, Goeldi’s monkeys and more Amazon partots, while the sloths will move to the Riverview Zoo in Peterborough.
Giant anteaters and Hyacinth macaws will move to the Magnetic Hill Zoo in Moncton, N.B.
“This kind of heartfelt cooperation further emphasizes the importance of the relationships we have with other professional institutions and our zoo colleagues in North America,” says Jamie Dorgan, general curator of the Calgary Zoo. “It makes a very difficult time for the Calgary Zoo a little easier knowing that the animals that must move on will receive excellent care.”
There are still no homes lined up for the spider monkeys, DeBrazza’s monkeys and Andean condors.
WestJet, Cargojet and FedEx are also stepping up, to relocate the animals free of charge.
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