WASHINGTON — Florida is currently undergoing one of the largest evacuations in more than five years as Hurricane Milton heads toward the state's coast.
Among those evacuees are penguins, lizards, turtles and other animals from the Florida Aquarium, which sits in downtown Tampa, that are being moved to safer ground ahead of Milton's landfall. The aquarium is expecting severe flooding and possible impacts of storm surge — estimated to be upwards of ten feet for the area.
The Florida Aquarium shared footage of crews moving nine African penguins to safety Tuesday morning.
"The safety of our animals is our top priority," Florida Aquarium President & CEO Roger Germann said in a statement. "And we take every precaution to ensure their well-being during extreme weather events like Hurricane Milton."
The African penguins were moved from their usual habitat on the first floor of the facility to the second floor, where they will have a temporary home.
Several other animals were relocated ahead of the hurricane, including moon jellies, snakes, lizards, turtles, alligators, toads and even a hermit crab. A recently rescued sea turtle from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, which was heavily impacted by Hurricane Helene nearly two weeks ago, will weather the storm safely at the aquarium's downtown campus, according to the press release.
On top of animals, the Florida Aquarium also relocated thousands of corals, including endangered pillar and elkhorn coral to safer locations such as West Palm Beach, Georgia and Miami. The Florida Aquarium is the only facility in the world that cares for endangered pillar collars and hold the largest population of reproductive-size elkhorn coral, the aquarium said.
Ahead of Milton's arrival, the Florida Aquarium closed on Tuesday and plans to reopen on Saturday, Oct 12. The aquarium advises people to look for more updates on their social media channels.