Any news on Aquarium in New Orleans

[rmelancon]

I have a friend who is on staff at the Aquarium whom I have not heard from since the day before the storm hit. The only information I've found is small blurbs on the AZA website. Wondering if anyone else has seen information, website or otherwise on the status of the Aquarium and possible whereabouts of staff. Here's the link to the AZA site:

http://www.aza.org/Newsroom/hurricaneupdate/

Most of the fish in the collection have been lost (I'm assuming that means the big sharks and others). No word on the sizeable frog collection which includes a number of dart frogs.

I've contacted the newsroom admin from the AZA site and they are going to try to help me out. Oh, and I have already tried the "safe list" on CNNs website.

Thanks,
Robb

[Ed]

It was on the AZA list serve today that the staff are fine and they are evacuating some of the animals that are left. The lost most of the fish(although the weedy sea dragons survived), but have not had any other real losses. I suspect that they will be evacuating more of the animals over to the Zoo as they get things together.

Ed

[Auhsoj27]

I heard they recovered the white alligators.

[hkspowers]

My Mom works for the Audubon Institute in New Orleans, I called her and asked if the zoo and the aquarium made it out ok. She said that the aquarium and the zoo made it out with minimal losses. The aquarium has a life support system and an emergency crew that stays even during the storm. I am sure they lost some stock but most of the animals and fish prob survived. She told me that the Audubon Institute will be operating mainly out of Baton Rouge for a while until they get back on their feet. Oh yeah she told me that a few sea lions died from stress during the storm.

Well, I will update when I talk to her again. (See I just recently moved to hollywood for school, so I don't get to talk to her much because the phone lines are dead.)

James

We're fostering the penguins and otters for a little while