Everglades Escapees

I saw a news piece today about an excess amount of rain in the Miami area. It seems the flooding in the Metro Zoo area is so bad that lions and tigers are swimming across the moats which have been dug around their domiciles, and some have escaped into the larger grounds which surround the zoo.

Well, now that’s not good.

This recent news story calls to mind a similar, but more disastrous event from almost 2 and a half decades ago; one in which I personally participated.

The date was August 24, 1992. (And if you happened to be somehow associated with this infamous date, you would immediately recognize it).

Hurricane Andrew

The costliest hurricane up to that time, in terms of $, (though thankfully not the loss of life) which ever struck the United States of America. 

25 Billion Dollars in losses!

Every house, every business, every tree, every shrub in a 25 square mile area damaged or destroyed.

35,000 active and reserve troops immediately deployed to devastated south Florida.

I was one of them.

My Army National Guard unit, 2^nd Battalion, 116^th Field Artillery “set up shop” on the grounds of

… the Metro Zoo.

Dozens of canvas tents, cargo trucks and Humvees, along with 500 men in green scattered throughout acres of pines and rough scrubs which bordered the zoo’s non-descript buildings, and more descript animal enclosures.

And what struck me with the current news report of those lions and tigers swimming across the moats which held them captive, and escaping into the wider grounds of the animal preserve, is that I experienced something very much like it immediately after the hurricane of ’92.

For although zoo officials managed to relocate some of the animals prior to the advent of that category 5 hurricane; many were left to their own devices. And unfortunately, many escaped, and some died in the 200 mph blasts of wind which accompanied it.

… Among which were an unknown number of monkeys and chimps from the HIV research facility there.

As a result, the members of my National Guard unit were told to “shoot first, and ask questions later.”

We were equipped with M-16’s and plenty of bullets, and the capability to put those “bad boys” on automatic, if we so chose. And obviously, anything in the line of fire would quickly be reduced to red mist. (As a result, I suppose members of the Florida Guard felt ourselves superior, since the regular active duty troops were denied ammunition; as martial law had not been declared).

I never saw one of those HIV infected little beasts, and I never heard any reports of anyone having blown one away. Reports are that some escaped into the Florida Everglades.

And though AIDS is far from a laughing matter, (and I would never demean anyone who suffers from the disease) when taken in the light of our culture, I can imagine one of the offspring of those original chimps asking another,

“So, did you bring protection?”

By William McDonald, PhD. (Mc)Donald's Daily Diary. Vol. 19. Copyright pending

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