Drusillas Park battled through the night to help the animals amid storm power cut

The zoo near Alfriston experienced a power cut on Monday, February 21, after Storm Franklin hit the area on Sunday night (February 20).

Drusillas Park said it has been forced to remain closed for a second day, which is the longest power cut the zoo has experienced in the last few decades.

A spokesperson from the zoo said, “The park’s estate team have been pulling shifts through the night to ensure vital backup generators have enough petrol to power crucial heaters in animal enclosures.

“Keepers are working around the clock, donning head torches to navigate the zoo’s now dark working areas to keep animals fed, watered, and cared for – some have even taken to cuddling animals to keep them warm.”

Fallen trees and debris hit the attraction after Storm Eunice on Friday, February 18, and the park said its team were still working to clear and rebuild the damage over the weekend.

Head keeper Gemma Romanis said, “In preparation for Storm Eunice on Friday, we took a number of our animals inside to protect them.

“On Saturday, we worked from very early in the morning to remove and rebuild the damage, and were able by Sunday to settle our animals such as lemurs and squirrel monkeys back into their public enclosures.

“We’ve been multi-tasking, helping the estate team, carrying tree trunks, building fences, you name it – there was so much to fix it became all hands on deck to try and get the park fit for the public again.

“Just when we thought we’d got on top of it, the power cut hit on Monday morning and everyone had to dive in again.

“We aren’t able to heat all the zoo enclosures at once with the generators, so we had to plan some tactical animal move-arounds to get those that need heat into the areas we could keep warm.

“We were most concerned about our reptiles, armadillos, anteaters, and sloths – especially with the infant sloth who is just a few months old, who would be in considerable danger if she couldn’t keep warm.”

The head keeper said along with the issue of heating, electric fences also went down which created the risk of animals escaping - although fortunately the backup batteries kicked up.

With 800 animals at the zoo, priority when the power failed was to ensure the correct temperatures and conditions could be maintained for each of the exotic species, to limit any stress that could cause serious health concerns or potential death.

The park said it does not know when the situation will improve.

The spokesperson said, “Thousands of people who had planned to visit over the West Sussex half term have been left without certainty on whether the park can open its doors before the school holiday is over.”

Managing director Cassie Poland said, “This is absolutely devastating for us and so many others in the area.

“Our priority is always the animals, and we are so lucky we have the team we do as they jump into action without hesitation in these situations.

“Beyond keeping the animals warm, we have fridges and freezers full of food, staff unable to work, no access to our booking systems or phone lines and a huge number of people who’s plans have been ruined and no answers to give them.”

The park said it is announcing updates on the situation as and when it has them.

Drusillas is urging anyone who is planning to visit to check its social media pages and website before travelling.

READ THIS: Eastbourne mum devastated after storm destroys garden her autistic son loves

Fire crews called to Eastbourne seafront property