Pandas and monkeys were saved from bushfires threatening a zoo in Australia — when the head of the animal hub took the creatures home with him, according to a new report.
“It felt like Armageddon a few hours ago,” Chad Staples, the director of Mogo Zoo in New South Wales, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, describing the fires in the area as “apocalyptic.”
“Right now in my house there’s animals of all descriptions in all the different rooms, that are there safe and protected … not a single animal lost,” he said.
Staples said he took home several small red pandas and monkeys, while other employees ignored an evacuation order and stayed at the zoo to save hundreds of larger animals while beating back the blaze.
“What we did with the dangerous animals — lions, tigers, orangutans — is encouraged them to the night den, kept them calm, like nothing was happening, and we were able to protect them at that site,” Staples told the outlet.
“Thanks to the amazing team that just love these animals like their family, we were able to do so. It was amazing.”
At least 12 people, including three firefighters, have been killed in Australia’s infernos, which are continuing to rage across the states of New South Wales and Victoria, The Age newspaper reported.
At least 30% of the nation’s native koalas have been wiped out in the blazes, the federal environment minister said this week.
Sydney has been shrouded in smoke for a month, while record heat and high winds have made conditions even more difficult.
Harrowing images of residents sheltering on beaches on New Year’s Eve beneath a blood red sky went viral around the world.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison came under fire for going on a family vacation in Hawaii during the crisis, while the NSW Emergency Services Minister is now facing heat for heading off to Europe, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.