Mogo Bushfires - Rotary Thailand support
There were many stories that came out of the “Black Summer” Bushfires of 2019/20. This is just one of them. This relates to a small town on the Far South Coast – just south of Batemans Bay. The fires hit Mogo very early on New Year’s Eve – December 31, 2019. Prior to 6.00am most of the population of Mogo had been evacuated east to the coastal villages of Broulee, Mossy Point and Tomakin. Half of Mogo’s main street had been destroyed, Old Mogo Town and many homes between the Princes Highway and the coast had been consumed as well. There was one minor miracle that in the main escaped the carnage – Mogo Wildlife Park!
“Zoo Keeper Chad” – the face and Director of the park
The Park is home to over 200 exotic animals and on 31 December 2019 – it was under threat from the fires. Because of the magnitude of the bushfires all over the Eurobodalla Shire – there were no RFS units available to assist with protecting the Park. Fifteen staff came to the rescue – some even leaving their own homes that were under threat.
Can you imagine the possibilities of fires going through the wildlife park – firstly the possible loss of animals that are already on the brink of extinction – and secondly if enclosures were breached and animals escaped to create mayhem in association with the fires. Lions, tigers, rhinos, giraffes, gorillas loose and scared! The staff were able to secure most of the larger and more dangerous animals in their night dens, some of the smaller animals were placed into pet carry cages and placed in the Managers home for safety and some of the animals remained in their open enclosures. The giraffes were happier out in their enclosure where they could see what was happening rather than being locked in their night den.