FEATURE/Miami Zoo's Aviary Set to Reopen May 3, More Than 10 Years After Hurricane Andrew.Feature & News Editors/Travel Writers FEATURE... MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 2003 More than 10 years after Hurricane Andrew This article is about the 1992 hurricane; there was also a Tropical Storm Andrew during the 1986 Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Andrew is the second-most-destructive hurricane in U.S. history, and the last of three Category 5 hurricanes that made U.S. ravaged rav·age v. rav·aged, rav·ag·ing, rav·ages v.tr. 1. To bring heavy destruction on; devastate: A tornado ravaged the town. 2. Miami MetroZoo Miami MetroZoo is the largest and oldest zoological garden in Florida. It is located in southern unincorporated Miami-Dade County southwest of the city of Miami and west of the village of Palmetto Bay. , the zoo's star attraction star attraction n → atracción f principal star attraction n → grande attraction star attraction star n → , the American Bankers Family Aviary aviary Structure for keeping captive birds, usually spacious enough for the aviculturist to enter. Aviaries range from small enclosures to large flight cages 100 ft (30 m) or more long and up to 50 ft (15 m) high. Enclosures for birds that fly only little or weakly (e.g. Wings of Asia, is set to reopen to the public Saturday, May 3. The expanded complex covers 2.6 acres and is to be one of the largest free-flight aviaries in the world. The original aviary opened in 1984 and was completely destroyed by Andrew's devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. winds. Most of the exhibit's 300 birds were blown away or killed. A year of refurbishing was required before the zoo reopened to the public, but reconstructing the aviary proved difficult to finance and execute, according to Glenn Ekey, president of the Zoological Society of Florida, the non-profit support organization for MetroZoo. "With so many other rare and endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. under our care, we had to rebuild their habitats first because of the zoo's mission to help preserve those species," Ekey said. "Once we could turn our attention toward the aviary, we decided to build something that was state-of-the-art. "Now, more than 10 years later, the opening of this facility truly signifies the end of our recovery from Andrew," he said. The new aviary was built to survive a Category II hurricane, according to Ekey. Its design is similar to a large circus tent. More than 90,000 square feet of stainless-steel mesh is held aloft by a series of 42 metal pylons including two that are 70 feet high. The supports are secured to 36-inch auger anchors sunk 20 feet underground. Wings of Asia links dinosaurs as the evolutionary connection to birds, a depiction that places the zoo at the forefront of scientific exhibitry, said Ekey, adding that Dr. Mark Norell, chief paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History American Museum of Natural History, incorporated in New York City in 1869 to promote the study of natural science and related subjects. Buildings on its present site were opened in 1877. , spearheaded the scientific advisory team that developed the storyline. The bird collection is diverse, including cranes, rails, mynahs, parrots, pheasants, thrushes, fruit-pigeons, barbets and woodpeckers, providing a collection of rare species, colorful species and species with attractive songs or unusual vocalizations. The birds are vastly different in size, from 10-gram Japanese white-eyes to 7,000-gram sarus cranes. MetroZoo is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. For admission information and ticket prices, call (305) 251-0400 or visit the Zoo's Web site at http://www.miamimetrozoo.com. |
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