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A group of rescuers work to save 275 parrots from an island battered by Hurricane Ian. Even though they were cut off from the mainland and their property was devastated by Hurricane Ian, Will Peratino and Lauren Stepp refused to evacuate their Pine Island, Florida, compound. The couple just couldn’t bear leaving behind their animals - two lemurs and 275 birds, including a few of the rarest breeds in the world.
Stepp and Peratino operate the Malama Manu Sanctuary, where they rescue birds from owners who can no longer care for them. They also breed rare birds like the king parrot, a breed so rare that there are only a couple dozen in the U.S. The birds are so important to the couple, there was no way they were going to leave them, but supplies on the island were running low, so “Operation Noah’s Ark” was hatched by the rescue organization Project Dynamo to get Stepp, Peratino, and their birds off the island.
This isn’t the first animal rescue for Bryan Stern, the founder and leader of Project Dynamo, but taking in 275 birds would have put a serious strain on their resources. So he was glad to team up with someone else interested in helping. Ghassan Abboud knew of Stepp and Peratino’s dilemma and since he owns a bird farm in West Palm Beach, he volunteered to take the birds in. All the birds have now been safely evacuated and Stepp and Peratino are grateful to their rescuers. “To have every bird safe is a huge undertaking,” Peratino says. “I mean, it’s almost impossible to do. So the kind of help we’ve gotten has been invaluable.”
Source: AP News