PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — When Hurricane Isaias came roaring into Florida’s Panhandle, 30 flamingos at ZooWorld Panama City Beach got an unusual storm shelter: the bathroom.
Video shared by the zoo showed the pink birds packed into the restroom, honking and wandering between sinks and stalls while dangerous winds battered the Gulf Coast outside. The setup gave the flock a protected indoor space as flamingos rode out Hurricane Isaias just miles from where the Category 2 hurricane came ashore.
“Hurricane lock down looks a bit different for every animal,” ZooWorld wrote in a Facebook post showing its storm preparations. “Some prefer the warm comfort of a hay bed, some need a little more space and a little more water.”
The flamingos fell firmly into the second category.
According to WFTV’s report on the unusual shelter setup, the group included a 10-year-old flamingo named Mr. Sparklepants as well as Scuttle and Mango Shrimproll, two 3-year-old birds raised at the zoo since they hatched.
Senior zookeeper Kylie Appleton recorded the flock before the storm arrived, and workers then secured the area.
A bathroom became the flock’s hurricane bunker
The arrangement may look strange on video, but the restroom offered something much more important than privacy.
ZooWorld staff needed to move the flamingos away from their normal enclosure as powerful winds approached. The enclosed bathroom provided a protected space while still giving the birds room to stand together and access the kind of environment they needed during a stressful event.
Other zoo animals were sheltered differently, including bat-eared foxes that were given additional bedding and placed in crates, according to coverage of ZooWorld’s hurricane preparations.
ZooWorld CEO Erika Newell stayed on the property during the hurricane and checked on the animals through the night, according to WFTV.
Her description of hurricane preparation was considerably more serious than the quirky bathroom video might suggest.
“You just have to say, ‘Well, I either get these animals inside or they don’t make it,’” Newell said. “So you find a way to get those animals inside and you get very, very creative.”
That creativity worked.
ZooWorld reported that its animals and staff came through the hurricane safely, though the property was left with cleanup from downed limbs.
Florida has seen bathroom flamingos before
For longtime Floridians, the sight may feel strangely familiar.
During Hurricane Andrew in 1992, workers at what is now Zoo Miami famously sheltered flamingos inside a bathroom as the Category 5 hurricane approached South Florida.
Flamingos were again moved into a restroom when Hurricane Floyd threatened the Miami area in 1999, according to WSVN.
This time, it was the Panhandle’s turn.
The National Hurricane Center said Isaias made landfall near Destin with maximum sustained winds around 105 mph. Panama City Beach also recorded significant storm surge as the hurricane pushed ashore.
Against that backdrop, a bathroom full of flamingos became one of the storm’s more distinctly Florida images: 30 bright-pink birds, a row of sinks and stalls, and a zoo crew finding whatever safe space it could.
By the time the winds eased, the flock was still standing — Mr. Sparklepants included.
