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Morning Storms Cause Power Outages, Including At Oklahoma City Zoo

Tiger triplets Eko, Ramah and Gusti relax in their enclosure at the Oklahoma City Zoo.
Mandi Sorenson
/
Oklahoma City Zoo
Tiger triplets Eko, Ramah and Gusti relax in their enclosure at the Oklahoma City Zoo.

Thunderstorms knocked out power across the metro Tuesday morning, including at the Oklahoma City Zoo, which was without electricity for about two hours.

 

Zoo Deputy Director Barry Downer says animal well-being and public safety are top priorities in these situations.

 

“We have generators on most of our buildings, so most of the animals are fine,” Downer said. “Most of those are automatic transferred generators so we don’t really have to worry much about those, but we always do check on them.”

 

Staff will usually release animals that live in buildings without generators into the outdoor part of their enclosures, if temperatures are warm enough and conditions are not severe.

 

“If it’s cold and it’s in the winter that we have a power outage, then we have portable generators that we can move to the buildings that don’t have permanent generators,” Downer said.

 

Severe weather season in Oklahoma brings temperatures warm enough to let animals outside in the case of a power outage following a storm. During a tornado or very severe storm, though, Downer says animals will be locked inside for their safety.

 

“We always have backup systems in place,” Downer said. “Of course we would never open up an exhibit without knowing it was safe for the public and surrounding communities.”

 

With power restored shortly after 9 o’clock Tuesday morning, operations at the zoo are back to normal.   

 

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